#orb dream my beloved creature

[cherryskeletoncake]

Smol dnb doodle

[jedimandalorian]

Ahsoka Episode 6 “Far, Far Away”: The Story, the Symbolism, and the Score

Episode 6 of Ahsoka begins with the sound of distant purrgil calls as Ahsoka and Huyang travel through hyperspace, crossing the void between galaxies. During their discussion of the tales Huyang used to tell the Jedi younglings there is no music.

I loved that Huyang said such an iconic line in this episode, reminding us that this is indeed a fairy tale, a children’s story.

The Title Card for Ahsoka appears, and then the episode title, “Far, far Away.”

We hear ominous music when Sabine is in the brig onboard the Eye of Sion. The window to her cell is shaped like an upside down triangle.

The sinister music continues during the scene with Baylan, Shin, and Morgan on the bridge. Morgan’s Theme (the Nightsister theme) is heard when the Eye of Sion exits hyperspace.

The line “Peridea is a graveyard” reminds us that this is indeed a “descent into the abyss” a stage of the hero’s journey which I have discussed on this blog before. Ominous music plays here.

The characters who are aligned with the dark side are on a quest for more power to dominate others. They have followed the Path to Peridea as a kind of path to perdition as I have mentioned in my previous metas. But Sabine, our heroine, is descending into the Underworld on a more noble quest. She hopes to find her beloved Ezra Bridger, echoing the story of Orpheus, the hero of Greek myth who descends into the Underworld to find his beloved Eurydice.

Morgan’s Theme continues when they board the shuttle and descend to the planet Peridea.

The landscape of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth is suggested by the giant statues and the Nightsister fortress, which resembles an evil version of Minas Tirith.

The characters encounter three Nightsisters, analogous to the Three Fates of Greek mythology, the Moirai. (Note the similarities between this word and the name of Ahsoka’s owl, Morai, a creature I predict that we will be seeing again soon.)

The three Fates were the personification of destiny in Greek mythology. The three sisters were known as Clotho (the spinner), Lachesis (the alotter), and Atropos (the unturnable, a metaphor for death). The end credits for this episode name these three Nightsisters as Klothow, Lakesis, and Aktropaw, clearly indicating the intended symbolism of these three characters. As George Lucas said back in the late nineties, “Well, when I did Star Wars I consciously set about to recreate myths and the — and the classic mythological motifs. And I wanted to use those motifs to deal with issues that existed today.” (From billmoyers.com) Lucas’ apprentice, Dave Filoni, has learned this lesson from the master himself.

The music is quieter in this scene, with sounds of low vibrations being heard. Morgan’s Theme continues when Sabine is imprisoned by the Nightsisters’ three orbs, which held her bound within a triangle made of red cords of energy.

Outside of the fortress three wolf-like creatures howl as ominous music plays. Choral music suggesting the mysticism of the fallen Jedi Order is heard as Baylan speaks of Peridea being a realm of “dreams and madness” from old “children’s stories come to life.” Once again, the viewer is reminded that we are being told a fairy tale, a myth. The musical score subtly teases the listener with three notes from Ahsoka’s Ronin theme in this scene.

Sabine is imprisoned inside the Nightsister fortress as the Chimaera arrives with the sound of ominous metallic rumbling. Thrawn’s flagship Star Destroyer was named after the female fire-breathing monster in Greek mythology which was part lion, part goat, and part dragon.

I am no Freudian, but the Chimaera’s open docking bay hovering over the phallic tower of the Nightsister fortress seems to be the most overtly sexual symbolism I have seen in Star Wars in a long time. However, I’m not here to discuss that visual metaphor.

Organ music which anticipates but does not present Thrawn’s theme is heard as the Nighttroopers muster under Enoch’s command. These undead stormtroopers have cracked armor repaired with golden seams suggesting the Japanese art of kintsugi, as well as armor pieces bound with bands of red cloth. They are heard chanting “Thrawn! Thrawn!” as the Grand Admiral makes his dramatic entrance. For me this chant was reminiscent of how the orcs in Return of the King chanted “Grond! Grond!” when using their mighty battering ram against the walls of Minas Tirith. (You can do your own Freudian analysis of that scene. I’m not going there.) What was Grond?

“Grond, also known as the Wolf's Head, was a one hundred-foot long battering ram with a head in the shape of a ravening wolf, used in the arsenal of Sauron in the Third Age. Though named for Grond, Morgoth’s warhammer, it was created in the likeness of the Wolf of Angband, Carcharoth.”—from lotr.fandom.com

Creepy music accompanies the Nighttroopers as they transfer of cargo from the catacombs beneath the fortress. What is inside them? Dead Nightsisters, waiting to be revived by dark magic?

Thumps and low pitched sounds accompany Thrawn’s conversation with Baylan.

Thrawn speaks of Sabine’s desire to be reunited with her long-lost friend. (The word desire is a very intentional word choice, with the connotation that the connection between Sabine and Ezra has potential to be more than just friendship.)

Sabine: I’m sure he’s doing just fine.

Thrawn: You gambled the fate of your galaxy on that belief.

Sabine: You wouldn’t understand.

Thrawn: Perhaps not.

Evil does not understand love and loyalty. (See my previous post about the Path to Peridea.)

Enoch returns Sabine’s weapons to her, and she is provided with provisions and a wolf-like howler for a mount. He tells her to “die well” as she embarks on her “fool’s errand.”

The line about a “fool’s errand” calls to mind this scene from Tolkien’s novel, The Return of the King:

'Tell me,' he said, 'is there any hope? For Frodo, I mean; or at least mostly for Frodo.'

Gandalf put his hand on Pippin's head. 'There never was much hope,' he answered. 'Just a fool's hope, as I have been told…”

“A Fool’s Hope” was also the title of the penultimate episode of Star Wars Rebels final season.

Once again, Thrawn’s theme is only hinted at by the organ music at the end of the scene.

Sabine’s scanner is destroyed during her fight for her life with the red-armored bandits in the wastelands. Her life is saved by her Mandalorian armor and weapons, Ahsoka’s training, and Ezra’s lightsaber in this action sequence.

Baylan and Shin ride out on howlers. Nighttroopers load coffin-like cargo containers onto the Chimaera as uneasy music plays. Thrawn decides to dispatch only two squadrons of Nighttroopers. His disdain for Jedi, light or dark, is apparent: “It matters not whether Wren and Bridger are killed or stranded here. The same can be said for your two mercenaries.” Ominous music plays.

The scene with Sabine and the howler is accompanied by gentle music played upon wooden flutes. Sabine processes her abandonment issues and her complex feelings for Ezra in this scene by taking out her emotions on the howler. “You. You abandoned me. I should have known you are a coward.” She tries to make the howler stop following her, but the loyal animal comes back as soon as she walks away. “Okay. Fine,” she says. “I’ll give you another chance, but you better not bail on me this time.” The gentle flute music continues. A motif of ascending perfect fifths suggests Ezra’s Theme.

The howler stops to drink water and sniffs the air. The thing that Sabine and the audience assumes to be a rock is revealed to be a sentient little hermit-crab-like creature called a Noti. Gentle music plays when Sabine kneels, puts down her blaster, and extends her hand to the creature. The Noti recognizes the Rebel Alliance symbol (an evolution of her own Starbird design) on her pauldron. The creature has a medallion of his own, marked with a similar symbol.

“Do you know Ezra Bridger?” Sabine asks, touching her heart. “He’s my friend.”

Ominous music plays as Baylan and Shin discover the dead bandits. Once again choral music is heard when Baylan reminisces about the Jedi Order.

It is also revealed that the Nightsisters are fleeing from a power that is greater than their own.

Baylan and Shin see the red Bandits in the distance. “The enemy of our enemy is our friend,” says Baylan, “for now.”

Peaceful and noble sounding music is heard when Sabine sees the Noti encampment. She smiles at the mother Noti rocking her baby in a hammock.

With Sabine in the foreground, the camera pans to show a now adult, bearded Ezra Bridger wearing a red robe and leaning against the wall of his home. “I knew I could count on you,” he says as joyful music plays, music which features the piccolo, flute, and other woodwind instruments.

The closed captioning for this episode says that there is captivating music playing when Sabine and Ezra finally embrace. We hear a beautifully orchestrated rendition of Ezra’s Theme on the French horn with a new countermelody in the strings to heighten the emotional impact of this long-awaited scene.

Ezra’s Theme is heard again when he says “Sabine, thanks for coming. I can’t wait to go home.”

When we return to where the Chimaera is docked with the Nightsister fortress, a suggestion of Thrawn’s Theme is heard at a quick tempo suggesting the urgency of the situation that is about to unfold. Ahsoka Tano is coming. “The thread of destiny demands it” is a line that further emphasizes the three Nightsisters playing the role of the three fates. We finally hear Thrawn’s Theme presented in an obvious way as the episode ends.

I have blogged about the magnificent end credits music in previous blog posts, so this time I am going to discuss something different: the alchemical symbolism in Ahsoka.

The central focus of alchemy was to transmute base metals into gold and create the elixir of life, as any aficionado of the lore of the philosopher’s stone knows. The process is a metaphor for the purification and transformation of the human soul to a state of perfection.

Three colors symbolize this process, black, white, and red.

First there is the nigredo (blackening) stage of the alchemist’s work, representing the breaking of the human spirit. This is where both Sabine and Ahsoka are at the beginning of the series.

Second is the albedo (whitening) stage, which involves washing away impurities or vices, and being ready to grow and learn again. This is most clearly illustrated by Ahsoka the Grey’s “death” and transformation into Ahsoka the White.

Third is the rubedo (reddening) stage, which is where we are in the story right now. It represents the purified and awakened spirit reaching its highest and purest form.

“The symbols used in alchemical writing and art to represent this red stage can include blood, a phoenix , a rose, a crowned king, or a figure wearing red clothes.”—Wikipedia.

The color red, of course, is symbolic of Nightsisters and their magic in this series, as well as symbolizing the red thread of fate.

Baylan Skoll’s line about having to “destroy in order to create” is an example of the alchemical concept of “solve et coagula” meaning to separate then join together. Nothing new can be built without destroying the old. Perhaps this is really telling us about the destruction and rebuilding of the Jedi Order.

In the completion of the rubedo stage there must be a union of sulphur and mercury, also known as the wedding of the Red King (the sun) and the White Queen (the moon). Sulphur represents the masculine principle, the soul, and the fire of life. (Remember Ezra’s red robe?) Mercury represents the feminine principle and the mind, flexible and changing. (Sabine is a clever young woman who lives inside her head, sometimes too much. Lately she’s been distracted by her heart.) Mercury also represents a state that can transcend death.

Is the much-discussed Ezra and Sabine hug the union of Sulphur and Mercury? Or should we expect something more than that?

Much has been written about Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati as the mythological wolves who chase the sun and the moon. This episode ends with the pair in pursuit of Ezra (sulphur, the Red King, the sun) and Sabine (mercury, the White Queen, the moon). When Skoll and Hati catch the sun and the moon, Ragnarok begins.

Besides sulphur and mercury, there is another element present at the rubedo stage of alchemical transformation: salt.

Ahsoka the White is coming.

Please reblog and comment on what you think of my musical and literary analysis of this episode of Ahsoka. I am looking forward to reading your replies.

[preciouslandmermaid]

quiet fury in your head [xi]

Dream of the Endless x AFAB!Reader!Goddess / Sandman Fanfiction

Note: This one took me so long to write and i don't love it LMAO but next chapter is gonna be like pure smut-no-plot so...that'll be fun. The fic only has TWO MORE CHAPTERS until it's complete that's crazy lmao tagging @sapphireonline cuz they asked so nicely to be tagged :). Also, my fics on ao3 are for registered users only due to AI scraping.

No use of Y/N. See part 1 for all the tags tbh.

Warnings: none

Rating: 18+

(Read on AO3)    ||   (masterpost for other chapters)  

While standing on the shining, white salt flats, The Gates of Horn and Ivory open for you and the Dreaming cautiously welcomes you.

It’s emptier than you recalled (or perhaps the Dreaming creatures are hiding from you). You allow yourself the pleasure of viewing the Dreaming for the first time without anxiety and without fear. You glide your fingertips across a cobblestone bridge, and the clear, inviting bubbling brook beneath reflects an uneasy, shifting portrait of heartbreak and exhaustion. It takes a moment to realize the reflection is your own. You push away from the bridge, dusting residue from your palms, and trek deeper into the Dreaming.

A swarm of blue, shimmering butterflies fly past – their wings glow beneath rays of sunlight and faint glimmers of light trail in their wake. You lift your hands in greeting, hopeful that one might land upon your palm, but they merely dance through your fingertips with glittery wings before vanishing into the air. These creations radiated with such gentleness and care.

Morpheus’ absence is a thorn beneath your nail. You wrestle your difficult emotions into subservient silence. Your desire for him will achieve nothing and accomplish nothing. The prideful King has made his choice. He chose a glass orb prison in an amateur’s basement rather than to be with you and fulfill a centuries-old promise to reunite.

The landscape deepens to rich burgundy, dusky tan, and blooms beneath effervescent golden sunlight. The dry, warm air fills your nostrils and lungs. You stand on a plateau of flat, crimson rock. The sun remains in a perpetual state of dusk, painting the sky periwinkle, and pink, and streaking claws of orange. You crouch and lift fine, rusted sand and gravel into your palm. You hold it for a moment, sensing its warmth, feeling the essence of Dream’s magic before releasing it, and watching it swirl and twist on the wind.

A creature approaches you, timidly, and is burdened by a shell on its back—its face is weathered and gray. The skin around its neck is saggy and loose. A lantern swings on the tall, oak-sculpted stick it carries. It stands a few feet shorter than you, squat and bipedal, and watches you with beady and cautious eyes.

It bows its bald, speckled head. “I remember you,” it says in low, resonate timbre. “The Dreaming whispers your name, Lady Morrigan.” It speaks slowly with small ‘hmms’ between each word.

You think of the Corinthian. Do all the creatures assume you abandoned them? Is this creature yours? Did you create him? You hold no memories of creating anything inside the Dreaming. You only manipulated what already existed. Yet, you cannot ignore the fact that you may have forgotten something. Anything is possible in the life of a reborn God.

“Do they know I died?” You ask, “that I was unmade in the minds of Men? That I was forgotten? Erased?” You can’t help but spit that final word with contemptuous venom. The graciousness of forgiveness is a difficult lesson to learn.

The lantern swings when it starts to walk again. “The minds of Men may have forgotten. We did not.”

“Do you expect my gratitude?” you ask dryly.

Are you supposed to give this tortoise-creature a boon? That is what your devotees of old wanted. They had chanted, and sacrificed, and called you into their battlefields or into their beds. They begged for your blessing on all fours and you were fickle; You would kiss the brows of beloved warriors, or bite their hearts with a freezing, cold grip.

But you are no longer Nemain of the Sisters Three. You are simply The Morrigan, Queen of Nightmares, a forgotten monarch in the realm of Dreams. Your purpose slowly manifests before you. You promised Dream that you would return. If only he wasn’t so unreasonably stubborn, then he would’ve been next to you, with Roderick’s bones ground to dust beneath your heel. You desire for vengeance seizes like a vice around your throat. Roderick ought to be dead. The roots of his family tree torn asunder and fed to his funeral pyre.

The creature finally deigned to respond, “I expect nothing, my lady.”

Its black tongue licks its’ wrinkled, dry beak. You sense its’ desire to leave. The Dreaming flutters with this knowledge and cajoles you into trying to get it to stay. You fold your arms across your chest. It moves at a glacial pace, its’ lantern swinging, its’ clawed feet kicking up small plumes of reddish dust.

You say, “It will take you decades to reach where you’re going.”

“It is not about where I will be,” It says, “it is about the going.”

You shrug and allow the creature be.

*

You cannot effect anything within the Dreaming. Those powers remain locked inside a small ring that Dream used to wear on his pinkie finger. Aimless, you walk through the Dreaming, and you talk to Her inhabitants and in the words of a strange tortoise—you focus on ‘the going’, rather than the destination.

The castle doors groan when they open. From the outside, it seems as if nothing had changed, but the interior plumes with dusty motes and freckles of ancient, unraveling magic. Your fingertips trail against the dusty banister as you move through the arched hallways with new eyes and a wounded heart.

You don’t know this castle well. You never traversed it when you were confined to the Dreaming. Except for one place, of course. A place where an old friend might be found.

The scent of paper and leather fills your nostrils and Lucienne steps from the aisle of books as if she was expecting you.

“Lady,” she bows her head as she says it.

“Lucienne.” Her name is a feathery sigh from your throat. The sudden warmth that spreads through your chest is unexpected, but not unwelcome. Lucienne’s face hasn’t changed. Her inquisitive eyes peer at you from behind her rounded spectacles. Her full cheeks round when she smiles.

“I cannot express how good it is to see you,” she says, a book clutched to her chest. “The shelves knew of your return before I did.” She looks up, her expression icing into fraught sadness streaked with regret. The spine of a book trembles, like a frightened creature, before drops from the shelve and falls open to reveal its blank pages. Are all the stories gone?

“They are not all empty,” Lucienne says, as if reading your mind, and offers the book she’s holding to you. You read the etched, golden title. The Adventures Of...it reads before fading away onto the stiff leather. You flip through and discover an irregular layout of full chapters combined with blank sheets.

You ask, “What else remains?”

“Your room,” she says, returning the book to her hands and wearing it like a shield before her heart. “I did not go within, of course,” she adds quickly, “but I know it’s there.”

You knew it too. You lick your lips and silently leave the room without farewell. Lucienne doesn’t call after you, nor does she ask the questions you can see written across her face. There will be a time for questions later. Right now, you need to explore and confirm this reality – this land of broken Dreaming. A palace without a monarch. A graveyard without a keeper. A home without a hearth. The doorknob turns beneath your palm, welcoming you, as so many small pieces of the Dreaming tend to do.

A room you never slept in—except for when you were poisoned. A closet with clothes you never wore—except for your single black cloak. You step into the closet and quietly admire the craftsmanship of Dream’s meticulous touch. Your fingertips glide through gauzy starlight, twinkling in your palm. You lift your nose to floral fabrics and your stomach swoops at the scent of full spring dancing through your nostrils—lush, bright meadows, humming bumblebees, and the tickle of pollen at the back of your throat. The burning cold of frost, the viscous-ember of magma, the angry swell of a blue-gray sea; all of it is contained within your wardrobe.

Your jaw clenches. How can someone capable of such careful beauty be so stubborn and illogical? Why can’t he see that his realm need him? That his selfishness is causing harm? You clench your hand around fabric that is storm-cloud and heat-lightning.

A name drops into your mind. A name you had accidentally forgotten. You sweep yourself into the dress in swirls of gray-and-white color before you vanish from the Dreaming in a thunderclap.

*

Your toes sink into the damp, cold sand and the rainwater prickles onto your skin. The air hums with the brewing storm. Something in your veins – something powerful – ricochets down your spine.

“Dima!” you shout into the roiling, dark clouds above the ocean. “Morrigan, Goddess of Nightmares, calls upon you.”

The lightning flashes and strikes, erupting a piece of earth beside you, and sending hardened diamonds into the air as the budding rain commits to a roaring deluge. Dima is crouched in a three-point landing, her head bowed, kneeling and reverent at your feet. Your heart burns with joy.

“Rise,” you say while opening your palm to her. “I would meet your eyes as a friend.”

Her hand slides into yours and you meet her white-eyes with a smile aching your cheeks.

“You changed your name,” she says. You cannot tell if the water down her face is from the rain or her tears. In the end, it does not matter. You are happy to see her. She came when you called. She remembered you. That is all that matters.

“You remember me.”

“I am not as fickle as mortals.” Dima sniffs. “The sky, the stones, the water, and trees…” She gestures with both arms to the world. “We don’t forget.”

You say, “Neither do Endless.” It wasn’t only Dream’s devotion that re-made you and brought you back into the world as a Goddess. Dima, too, played her part in your revival. An Endless and the personification of Storms believe in a Goddess. What an odd following you have claimed. Dima looks away when you mention Morpheus.

“He lifted your banishment,” you whisper, and your words are clear despite the storm. “Didn’t he tell you?”

Dima folds her fist over her heart. “I could not go back without you.”

“Then come back with me now.” You offer her your hand once more.

Her smile is bright. “Is this a choice or an order, my Lady?”

You chuckle softly, shaking your head at the gall – the bravery – of her. You are the Queen of Nightmares and yet Dima does not flinch. Perhaps that’s because she knew you before your death. You don’t frighten her and you don’t want to. She was your first friend, after all.

“A choice, Dima.”

The rainfall starts to lessen. “Then I choose to accept.”

*

50 years later…

(1972)

This is your third time visiting Fawney Rig. The second had been a rushed visit after you felt Jessamy’s death. It had been like an arrow through your lungs. You brought yourself to the cellar and demanded Morpheus allow revenge—if not for him then for Jessamy.

You were bound to Corinthian’s promise to not harm Roderick. But, you could harm others. You could make them all suffer for their foolishness. You could make Roderick miserable. But, you wouldn’t do it without Morpheus’ blessing. He needed to balance the scales. He needed to owe you his life, or something close to it, so that you could truly be equals.

Yet, Morpheus did not speak to you.

That had been about fifty years ago—give or take. It was time to see if the Dream Lord’s stubbornness had finally eroded. The snowfall is light, though thick piles rest on the pine like bruises. You choose to feel the cold. You let it push through the weaves of your wool coat and prickle against your cheeks and nose.

You reach for the doorknob and your fingers freeze in mid-air, straining against an invisible force, before omniscience wraps itself around you. They’ve warded Fawney Rig from me, you think with a furrowed brow. It was Corinthian, of this you have no doubt.

“Cowardly little nightmare,” you mutter to yourself, though you are a little impressed. It’s been decades since you’ve seen Dream, yet Corinthian is afraid of you, and worried that you’ll find a way around the promise that was made. “Smart,” you concede, blinking snowflakes from your eyelashes, “but cowardly.”

You reach out to Dream through the ambiguous, void-space of one mind talking to another.

“I do not expect a reply, Lord of Dreams, but I’d like you to know that they’ve warded the mansion against me.” You pause walking the perimeter. “So, even if you wished for my help, I could not give it.”

The magic surrounding Fawney Rig is well-crafted, tailored, and not even your various shape-shifted forms can penetrate it. You circle towards the entrance.

“It’s snowing. The moon is full.” You don’t know if Dream can hear you, but it feels nice to try. He rejects all of your ritual daggers, but perhaps he will take this instead – insignificant details of the world that he loves from the Goddess he revived.

“I’ve always had a fondness for nights like these. The world is gray and white. The moon is like a silver coin in the sky.”

You crumple powdery snow between your fingers. “You know, the mountains were my favorite place in the Dreaming. They still are, if we’re being forthcoming about it. I’ve yet to visit them again. They remind me of...solitude and serenity, the clarity that comes from being a distance.”

You pull a novel from the inner lining of your coat. There are hours before the next shift change and you want to see if the guards perform any rituals during the transition. You are curious to discover if you can break these bonds.

The hours whittle away as you speak to Dream, mind-to-mind.

“I heard about Roderick’s death. It could’ve been crueler. Should have been.”

“I would’ve driven him mad, if it had been me. I would have plagued him with visions of his dead son until he freed you with broken, bloody hands.”

“I ran into your sibling, Desire. About…” You count the years in your head. “Thirteen years ago? I asked if they knew I’d die if I returned to the Heart Tree and they said they had their suspicions.” You scoff. “Which I believe means yes. You likely know them better than I, so draw your own conclusions.” You idly wave your hand as if brushing the story aside.

You disliked being set up as a pawn in an emotional chess game between ancient, cosmic entities. You had told Desire as much and were seething when you turned your heel and said, “Leave me out of it next time.”

You aren’t a pawn, anymore. You look after the Dreaming. You look after mortals—especially young, scared children, like that little girl with the dog—regardless of whether or not they provide offerings or prayers. You don’t like to get involved in their messy, dramatic, and short mortal lives, but you like to watch them. You like to see how the threads of fate unravel and twist unexpectedly.

In time, you know that ‘The Morrigan’ will eventually reach the collective consciousness, but you just don’t yet know what new stories they will tell.

“I’ll return when I can.” You rise to your feet from where you had been sitting in the snow.

“Why?” His voice scrapes through your mind like gravel. Your knees buckle and you catch yourself on the manor’s brick wall. The cold air bites through your lungs. You want to live inside the roughed caress of his voice. A sweeter sound never made, you think, as you try to calm your heart.

Your heart hums. “Nobody else listens half as well as you do.” You touch your forehead against the wall and the Ward stings your skin.

“Until next we meet, Morpheus.” The promise lingers in the air among the snowflakes.

[lunarlatticethief]

A Mistake To Be Rectified

Sa'risha was laying down on her back, typing away on Discord. Her Pokemon had gone to sleep in their Pokeballs for the night. Despite assurances it might just be anxiety, it definitely didn't feel that way. Maybe that dream was getting to her. Maybe.

She dragged a hand down her face. Moons, she would love to get some anxiety medication immediately rather than waiting until the morning. Much less getting an Absol, right now this instance, to confirm if something is wrong.

The quiet pelting of the snow against the hotel window, in spite of her dread, eventually managed to soothe her to sleep.

-----------------------------------------------------------

A loud crack startled her awake. Sa'risha scrambled through her sheets, barely managing to turn on the lamp.

It was an Ultra Wormhole.

No no nononono, not here, why of all fucking places here? She's sick and tired of these fucking Ultra Beasts coming after her for no reason. Sa'risha reached for her PokeBalls. "Aspen, go!" A flash of light released the hulking Torterra. "Groowroroahhhh!"

From the Ultra Wormhole emerged something she least wanted to see. Necrozma. The exact same creature that dragged her into this world and gave her her scars on her sides. I promised you that I would come to see you in person, it projected into her mind. "Aspen, Wood Hammer!" Aspen swung its front foot at the Necrozma, but it caught its attack in it hand. It released a pillar of light that took out the Torterra in one shot, forcing Sa'risha to withdraw him. Tch. Of course you would be defiant. You're a terrible chosen, you know.

"She’s your- Unchoose khajiit. Right now. Sa'risha will not serve you. She refuses to serve anything but the twin moons." And yet you are out of the reach of your beloved moons, Necrozma responded, glaring at her. I am your god now. And your duty is to carry my will. Something you've been failing to do. It abruptly grabbed her shirt, lifting her out the bed. Its face was glowing threateningly.

You were supposed to hold on to the Adamant Orb until I came. You let your avarice get in your way, and now this mistake must be rectified.

Necrozma gripped on to Sa'risha tightly in both of its massive claws, and both of them started glowing. You will be shown what you were supposed to do. Then, you will help me fulfill my dream. Do not resist.

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Moto Shotzo

Debut: Kirby Super Star

Hello! Welcome, welcome to another post about a Kirby enemy as I am known to do. Right this way please! The post is under this box. Please go read it now.

THUNK

Heehee! You’ve fallen right into my trap! This was never REALLY just a Kirby enemy post. Now I have you as a captive audience to listen as I talk at length about an obscure Game Boy game! Heeheehee! Let’s begin.

Name: Tank

Debut: Trax

Moto Shotzo is merely a cameo, a reference, to one of HAL’s earlier games, even before Kirby! Ever since learning that, I had been so intrigued, but unfortunately they never released it on the 3DS eShop for some reason, which was my only way of playing Game Boy games at the time. But now I have played it a bunch! And now I know about it and I like to know about it and I like to talk about it!

Trax is a top-down shooter game starring Tank, the lovable tank. Are you wondering how a tank can be lovable? Maybe not, because you can clearly see that this tank is dang cute. But there is more than it just being cute, because it has hopes and dreams and a heroic heart! Tank is the only one of its kind in a peaceful country village, and is old and worn-out to the point it can only turn its turret in one direction. However, a military empire invades, and Tank is the only hope of its home and friends! Could it possibly defeat an entire army of countless more powerful and efficient machines all on its own! Yes! Because it believes in itself and loves and is loved!

The story becomes even more wonderful, however, when you consider how the enemy army’s main troops are tanks identical to Beloved Tank. There is no doubt that Tank was originally created for this very army, before somehow becoming peaceful and friendly! This is my favorite kind of story ever: when a machine created for evil purposes ends up, through its own willpower or through the kindness of others or whatever, rebelling against the circumstances of its creation, and even actively fighting back against it! I love love love to see this any time it happens, and for this reason Tank is such a special little thing! Usually this sort of character is on the side, but here it is the star, and I would like that to happen more often!

Trax is a very short game, but very fun and cute and replayable! This image is not of Tank being haunted by a vision of its own fiery demise. This is Tank having destroyed the weapons factory that happens to also be a giant tank. They use the tank design a lot in this game, but can you blame them? It’s so cute with its bulbous body and bulbous orbs it rolls around on! They can even move around independently in a way that looks like a creature’s legs!

And NOW we shall actually get to Kirby! Moto Shotzo’s only main appearance is in Super Star and its remake as an enemy, and since it is an enemy, I think we can safely assume these are the ENEMY tanks from the game. Dear Tank would not do this. Moto Shotzo is a weird name, since Shotzos are invincible and Moto Shotzos are not, but it’s fine. It’s fine!!! Really!!!

Moto Shotzo’s OTHER most notable appearance is in Kirby Quest in Mass Attack, where one of the Awesome Attacks has Kirby ride on one while being chased by the first boss of Trax. Now THIS is Tank! THIS is our friend! Appearing as an ally to Kirby, and an enemy to the empire’s army! The Mass Attack minigames are basically Fanservice: The Games, but they cared enough about their history to make it beyond just Kirby, and that is wonderful!

Lastly, look at this concept art for Dream Land 2! Rather than Animal Friends, Kirby was originally going to have a tank as a friend, and though the design is pretty different, this absolutely channels the spirit of Friendly Neighbor Tank. Look at it galloping like a jovial mammal!

No matter how much HAL grows, they always love to celebrate their history, and I love that about them! No one is forgotten. Not Shigesato Itoi’s No. 1 Bass Fishing, not Pinball: Revenge of the Gator, and no, not Trax! Even if there has only been the one game to its name, My Biological Child Tank will be beloved forever!

[purple-plum-petals]

—⊱ Safe in Your Arms ⊰ || Xiao x Reader

╭─━━━━━━━━━━━━─╮       Character(s): Xiao (Genshin Impact)       Reader Type: Human, Not Traveler (Gender-Neutral Pronouns)       Warning(s): Reader Experiencing Symptoms Similar to Insomnia, Vivid Nightmare Scene in Beginning (Reader is being Chased by an Unknown Creature with Multiple Eyes in the Dark), Brief Mention of Vomit/Vomiting, Brief Mention of Eating Dirt/Rocks/Grass/Bugs in Nightmare Scene       Genre: Drabble, Angst, Fluff (Hurt/Comfort), Romantic (Pre-established Relationship)       Word Count: ~1,400 words       Prompt: “I just don't want to be alone tonight.” [Prompt List]       Author’s Note: Xiao my beloved. 🥰 I had a lot of fun with this prompt! I don’t care how many fanfictions there are about Xiao helping the Reader sleep after a nightmare, I will never get tired of that trope for as long as I live; it’s the hurt/comfort for me. I really hope Xiao comes home this time around in 2.7 – I wasn’t around for his first banner and then I lost the 50/50 in his rerun to a c1 Qiqi. My love please come home.… 😭

→ If you enjoyed my work, please reblog it if you can! Exposure on Tumblr is based on reblogging content rather than liking it, so your support would be much appreciated!  ♡ ╰─━━━━━━━━━━━━─╯

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           It had been a while since you had a nightmare and, with complete certainty, you could say that you didn’t miss them for a single second. Night after night of sleeplessness, of tossing and turning in your bed as sweat coated every inch of your body and made your pajamas cling to your uncomfortably warm skin like glue. Your eyes were bloodshot, the moon seeming to mock you from outside your window as it illuminated your bedroom in a cool blue hue. The night breeze blew through your room causing you to close your eyes for a moment as you enjoyed the chill it created on your clammy skin. You kept your eyes closed, trying to control your breathing so you could calm down and hopefully get some sleep before the morning came. Thankfully, sleep did welcome you back with open arms. However, unthankfully, your dream picked back up right where you had left off.

           You were running from… something. You couldn’t see what it was giving chase in the murky abyss behind you, but you knew it was there. You tried screaming for help, for someone, but nothing came out; you were drowning in the air around you. Suddenly, a hand wrapped itself around your ankle and pulled your leg out from under you, causing you to hit the ground with no time to brace yourself for impact. Dirt and grass filled your mouth the moment your face collided with the ground. You tried to spit it out but, no matter how many times you nearly threw up at the taste, your mouth stayed full of pebbles, plants, and bugs. You turned around and came face-to-face with the creature so hellbent on capturing you. Multiple eyes stared back at you from the darkness and ice shot through your veins as it began trying to drag you with it to wherever it wanted to take you. Even though the air was suffocating and your mouth filled with dirt, you finally managed to, with all the energy you could muster, yell out his name – Xiao.

           A voice calling to you and a cool hand shaking your shoulder caused you to wake up with a start, sitting up faster than lighting as you gasped for breath; just like your dream, you found yourself finding it hard to breathe despite the air that surrounded you. You felt a weight on your shoulder and turned to see what was touching you… only for your eyes to lock with a pair of sharp, golden orbs. You knew those eyes and – simply just seeing them at that moment – made everything feel alright; you felt safe in ways you hadn’t all night.

           “A-Ah… Xiao. Umm, m-may I ask why you’re here? Is something the matter?” You questioned, tilting your head to the side as you felt a bead of sweat roll down your brow. Ugh, you probably looked like a hot mess and it certainly wasn’t the type of hot you would want to look like in front of your beloved adeptus. Though, you didn’t have the energy to feel embarrassed when the adrenaline was still pumping through your veins and your arms were continuously shaking with the lingering fear from your dream still embedded in your mind.

           Xiao simply stared at you blankly for a moment before bluntly saying, “You called my name.”

           “O-Oh?” You asked in return, brows furrowed in confusion. You don’t remember calling his name, though? You were asleep and – wait, you did call his name! Xiao was the only thing you were able to choke out in your dream between having a face full of imaginary dirt and a shadowy monster trying to drag you into the abyss while you suffocated on air and… Alright, enough thinking about that! You didn’t need to spiral again. Taking your hand and running it through your damp locks in an attempt to soothe your anxieties, you said sheepishly with a not-very-convincing smile, “Oh! I… I guess I did. I-I apologize, I must have called it while I was sleeping. Nothing is wrong, so you can leave if you’re busy.”

           “Something is wrong – your pulse is higher than it should be, and you haven’t stopped shaking since you awoke…” Xiao said, his hand running down your arm from your shoulder to your wrist as he held it in his grasp oh-so delicately. He sat there for a moment, your hand in his as he caressed your palm with his thumb before his brows furrowed as he said, “your temperature is dangerously high as well.”

           “It was just a nightmare, is all – just my stupid human brain making things up to make sure I don’t get enough sleep to function properly. It happens all the time, so it’s no big deal.” You told him flippantly, waving your free hand (the one that he currently wasn’t holding) in the air as a way to make the whole situation seem insignificant. To him, it probably was; he was an adeptus, a protector of Liyue, and here he was having to comfort some human after they had a nightmare. You’d need to apologize to him later for wasting his time over something so insignificant.

           “It is a big deal,” Xiao said, gently taking both of your hands in his own. Your eyes met with his for a moment before his gaze darted around to look at anything besides your face. Xiao wasn’t the best at showing or giving affection, but he was getting better at it as your relationship continued to grow and evolve. Still, no matter how much time passed, the cute pink tint that always painted his face whenever he held you would never not be endearing. He continued to speak, voice soft and trembling ever so slightly, “I… I don’t know very much about you mortals, b-but I know that you need to sleep to stay healthy. Is there anything I could get for you that will help?”

           You thought for a moment before saying, a small smirk painted across your lips, “Sadly, I can’t think of anything off the top of my head but, well, if you’re offering…”

           “Yes?” Xiao asked, looking at you expectantly with one eyebrow raised.

           “…Could you stay with me?” You asked him, your gaze moving from his face to where your hands were still interlocked. You continued, voice shaky similarly to how his was just moments ago, “I-I just don't want to be alone tonight, hehe. Stupid, right? I’m a grown adult and I can’t even deal with a single nightmare on my own.”

           Xiao suddenly cut in, voice sterner than it had been all night, “You’re not stupid,” he paused for a moment, face turning that oh-so-lovely shade of red you adored on him, his golden stare boring its way into your heart as he continued, “a-and I don’t mind staying with you until you return to sleep... I have promised to protect you no matter what, and I will never break my promise to you.”

           “Thank you, Xiao; I’ll definitely make you some almond tofu tomorrow as a way to show my appreciation to the wonderful adeptus who stayed by my side.” You told him with a smile, scooting over in bed to make room for him. Xiao didn’t sleep very often and, whenever he did, he always managed to do it so awkwardly which, in a way, was understandable for an immortal being who didn’t need rest to function properly. No, you weren’t jealous over that fact (…okay, maybe you were).

           You gently led him by his hand under your awaiting covers, making sure he was nice and snug before wrapping your arms around his waist and snuggling into his chest with a content smile on your face. Xiao always seemed to run a bit colder than most and, at the moment, it was exactly what you needed. His toned body mixed with his cool temperature made it feel like you were lying on a very comfortable rock, but you weren’t going to say that out loud; no need to embarrass yourself any further tonight. With a content sigh, you whispered so only the two of you and the wind could hear, “…Goodnight, my darling Xiao.”

           You felt Xiao run his fingers through your locks, holding one of your hands in his as he muttered so quietly that even you could barely hear it over the calming breeze blowing through your window, “…Goodnight, my love.”

[inlustrissss]

Last Time

“The woman was scared to die all alone in a foreign country”

SPOILER WARNING!! CHAPTER 138

Edit: Thank you for 200 notes 😊😚

Levi x fem!Reader

TW! : slight angst but also mentioning of death, dw, got some nice and bittersweet moments as well

Summary: Levi and his fiancé are part of the survey corps and on a dangerous mission to stop Eren Jaeger in his plan with the rumble. On Marleyan ground, right before everything crumbles down, (Y/N) sees her life flash before her eyes

As Falco had caught on to the Kirschtein man, Connie looked devastated, the scene before the strong soldiers of Paradis unfolding into a complete disaster as Armin was about to detonate the bomb right around where Erens nape connected to it's bone-ish body.

"We need to get out quick!! Armin's gonna blow those bones to pieces!"

Having held down on to Piecks cart Titan body, (Y/N) loosened her grapple-hook, the gravity pulling her towards the ground as the hook returned to it's place at the ODM-Gear. At the same time the black haired woman Pieck emerged out of the Titan form, letting herself fall and hugging the (H/C) haired woman tightly.

Facing the ground, Falcos wings caught the women: "The armored Titan should be able to withstand the colossus Titan explosion—", seeing Jeans concern of their fellow old comrade, she tried to ease his worries as she sweated, "And most of all: Reiner's prepared for all of the consequences. To let this opportunity get away would be to let that go to waste!"

As suddenly Falcos Titan body increased its speed and flew up higher into the sky, (Y/N)s reflexes kicked in, making her close her eyes in fear. She felt an arm hug her waist tightly. Caught off guard, her (E/C) orbs opened frantically and her head swinging into the direction of the arms owner: it was her fiancé, the very man who had asked for her to marry him right in the middle of the war. Gifting the strongest soldier of humanity a subtle smile as a thank you, and maybe even slight reassurance for herself, she seemed to melt at his touch, getting lost in the rare colour of his cool blue eyes. Sighing, his tense shoulders relaxed for a second: "You okay?" His deep voice almost hoarse as it came out as a whisper, "Don't do anything reckless, stupid." Nodding speechlessly the woman noticed the bright light from behind her-- the bomb had been detonated and a loud, ear piercing bang sounded throughout the trampled battlefield of Marley. 

Wide eyes glancing towards the direction of Eren whereabouts, hands covering ears, the ring on (Y/N)s finger sparkled whenever the warm rays of sunlight reached the beautiful material. 

Was the battle finally over?

There was no time to think of the answer to that question, there wasn’t even any time to think of the question in the first place. It was a bittersweet moment, when Falco finally landed on the ground in front of those Marleyans and Eldians who had survived the ramble up until now. Leaving his titan body Falcos eyes searched the crowd for his parents. The little yet brave girl Gabi doing the same, running up to her mother and aunt, hugging them tightly just as Pieck did with her parents. Carefully jumping off of the bird like titan body, (Y/N) and Connie took a hold of Levis weakened body, making sure he stood on his feet before Connie adjusting his arm and placed it around his neck. The engaged woman never leaving her financés side, she held him by his torso, looking at the children that had been with them for a long time throughout the war, finally reuniting with their parents. The sight of Gabi smiling made her forget all of her worries. With Levi close to herself, nothing could beat them now.

“It’s not like I don’t have any regrets but-”, Connie looking around, seeing all the crying faces, “we did the right thing, didn’t we?” “We stopped the rumbling..”

“Wait!”, Gabi suddenly called out, running towards the cliff, almost falling off of it if it weren’t for (Y/N)s reflexes to catch the impulsive girl, “Watch it Gabi!”, the woman said with concern lacing her sweet voice, “But Reiner is still fighting.. and Armin?!”, looking back to the battlefield, they saw Reiner on the ground with Armin walking over to the cliff where everyone had been.

“They’re okay.”, said Jean as he patted Gabis should, but something had caught their attention. 

It was the centipede- like looking creature, which had taken control over Eren when he had transformed into the founding titan: “Hey, look over there!!”, yelled Connie while pointing at the thing, “It survived the explosion?” “What the fuck is that thing..”, mumbled Levi with a disgusted look, “Who knows, love.”, said (Y/N), “But all I know is that we can’t let this thing survive.”, with a determined look she glanced to her comrades, tightening her grip on to Levi. A bright light emitted behind the colossal titan,  the place where Erens corpse had been. “I didn’t think it’d take that much to kill you..”, said Jean as he was looking towards the bright light, seeing a titan form in the distance.

Long brown hair dancing with the wind, it was Eren.

“We can’t let Eren get to that thing down there!”, yelled (Y/N). Right when she was about to turn towards Levi and possibly get him ready for another fight, she noticed him groaning and his head hanging low, “Levi? What’s wrong?!”, brows furrowing, she tried to take a hold of his eyes with hers. “Just a headache.”, he whispered.

 A headache- come to think of it, Mikasa had been having headaches throughout the fight with Eren too..

Noticing how Gabi had crouched down with the others, (Y/N) decided to let her finacés headache slide and see what was going on. “What is this smoke?”, asked Gabi, “Smoke?”, inspecting further, (Y/N) saw how the creature had deflated, leaving only smoke behind, which soon covered a large space and devoured almost all of the mountain where they had been seeking their cover. “Is that thing finally dying?”, Mikasa groaned as he raised his brow suspiciously at the thing. But Connie had another answer: “No, it doesn’t smell like a dead titan”, his hand covering mouth and nose at the smell. His heart dropping and hands growing colder with each second, he was under shock: “Isn’t it the same they did in...”, he swallowed, “..In Ragako?”

Only hearing the confused voices speaking in the background, it was completely silent among the group. No one dared to mutter another word, it had all come to an end.

She wanted to cry but she couldn’t, her heart stopped to fear it only started to clench in worry, “Levi you have to get out of here”

It only rung louder and stronger, it was like his head was killing him slowly, praising him with a painful dead, it was like his instinct was punishing him for his failure. No it can’t be instinct, he truly did love her, he was no servant. Yet his DNA was telling otherwise.

“No don’t do this to me-”, the Ackerman males murmurs were cut off by his beloved soon to be wife, “Pieck, Mikasa! Get on Falco and hurry!”

“Please oh god don’t do this to me-”

“Levi, it’s okay.”, softly touching his cheek, being careful not to hurt his injury under the dirty and sweat stained bandages, she held his paled face. This very face she saw all those years ago, when he was captured by commander Erwin with his fellow friends Isabel and Farlan, oh how she has missed them all.  Recalling their first interaction when Hanji ran off to greet them at their first expedition, praising them on their skill with the ODM gear.

She glanced at his eyes. Those eyes she first truly started to take in the night he was at his worst, crying under the moonlit night, cursing himself how he could’ve been stronger. Those seemingly cold eyes that would always watch over squadleader (L/N)s doings. Those very eyes that would always gaze at her with love and tender were struck with fear and disbelief now. She knew he was too weak, she was scared he wouldn’t be able to handle another death. 

Levis nose stung, his eyes burning, this is it, he was close to crying. But as he heard her sweet voice, it was as if there was no war raging, “It’s okay my love”, she said with an almost inaudible whisper, forcing herself to not break down and cry herself. “You need to get out of here Levi”, her voice calming his penetrating headache, “You need to survive” Foreheads pressed together, (Y/N) swiftly let go off of his face to look at her right hand, “Here quick, take the ring honey-”, sliding off the engagement ring, she took Levis weak hand and pressed the warm yellow gold into his palm, she smiled softly, not noticing a single tear slip, “I’ll see you again Levi”

Pressing her warm lips tightly against his cold ones, she took a hold of his shoulders and hugged him. 

He hesitated, needing to take in what just happened but hugged her back just as tight, patting down her messy hair, just like hed always do to keep his beloved tidy. As they slowly parted she whispered “You need to hurry.”

Their moment seemed as if took hours.

Seeing Falco take off with the one she devoted herself to, (Y/N) finally broke down. Her life flashing by her eyes and even all the talks she had with Levi about her future, she played it all out just how it could’ve been.

Remembering how he had asked her to be his wife in the middle of war, because he was scared he wouldn’t survive, thinking of all the reassurence they both gave themselves until now.  Dreaming of a future together, knowing it would stay one.

She cried.

Hot tears streaming down her flushed cheecks, she wasn’t even able to keep up with the flow of her tears anymore, (Y/N) just gave up on trying to dry them. The woman was scared to die all alone in a foreign country.

“So this is how it ends, huh?”, (Y/N) stopped.

It was Jean who was pulling her close towards himself, Connie on his other side, hugging the taller male as well. “Guess so..”, said Connie. Turning towards Jean with an indifferent expression he scoffed, “Remember the night of the entrance ceremony?”, Jean nodded, “This is your fault we’re here right now.”

At their bickering right before the end made, (Y/N) had to laugh, “Stop it you guys, now’s not the time” Connie groaned, “Come on, when’s ever the time..”, but Jean apologized, “I’m sorry Squadleader”

Growing only sadder at the title, (Y/N) sighed: “Drop the act Jean, we’re only human after all.”

“Right.. (Y/N)”

She wished she could look into Levis warm eyes again.

She longed to see, she would do everything,

just to see him one last time

 Closing her eyes, she let the sunrays hit her skin, making her look angelic with the golden glow. Will it hurt? Will it be quick? Her mind growing ever so slight when the worries ceased, she didn’t want those things to be the last thing, worry should not consume ones life.

So when the time finally came, she only thought of Levi Achermann, the man she had loved the most in her life.

Seeing his beautiful steel gray eyes in her mind set her at ease.  So she rememniced his lovely touch for one last time.

[yandere-wishes]

🖤💔Yandere!Demon Slayers As Demons💔🖤

Dear readers for the first time in two weeks I offer you something that isn't a random post or a rant. This is an AU that I’ve been working on for a while, and seeing how this turns out I might continue it in terms of one shots and a mini series. Please enjoy!!

👺👺👺👺👺👺👺👺👺👺👺👺👺👺👺👺👺👺👺👺👺👺👺👺

Demon Tanjiro is much more complex than his human counterpart. His mood fluctuates too much, alternating between a loving docile young demon desperate for his lover's warm embrace, to a rabid beast who's willing to tear your stomach open with his claws and feast on your entrails while you're still breathing. He's just too unpredictable, what makes him praise you and litter your body with toothy kisses, might just get your arm dislocated the next day. There's just no telling, he just isn't Tanjiro anymore, he's some wild, savage, murderous monster wearing Tanjiro's face.

He's always watching...

His mere gaze isn't enough to turn you into a motionless rag doll. Slumped in the corner like a forgotten toy. No, but his silence is. The way his eyes are locked on you as if your some sort of little bunny that waltzed into his territory, the way his mouth is sewn shut by some invisible thread, the way his head is tilted to the side like he was trying to calculate your next move...it's all too tranquil, too clam, just like the eye of a hurricane. 

Languidly Tanjiro begins to crouch down, his moves are rapid and glitchy as if he isn't in control of his own body. Somewhere you hear something cracking, it's a dreadful noise like hammers pounding at your skull. It's only when you lift your eyes to the Oni in front of you, do you realize the noise is coming from him. It's like he's deforming in some way, dying and regenerating all in a single breath...and yet he still looks so...so beautiful. 

Even while he's stalking towards you on hands and knees, you can't deny how stunning he looks. Mouth molded into a small smile, long rust-colored locks pooling on the ground around him and his eyes... they're red one second and brown the next, changing ever so quickly just like his moods. 

He's much more passive like this, you note as if you've made some sort of groundbreaking discovery. So docile and calm...almost like a storm before it strikes. No, Tanjiro is not a storm you remind your self. He's a lion stalking its prey, relishing in the taunting silence it radiates by its mere presence.

Tanjiro's eyes have lost all hope, all passion. They're nothing more than empty spheres resting in his sockets.

You vaguely remember -or at least you think you do- a time when every action coming from the rust haired boy was entangled in a blanket of passion, every move had a clear purpose, every word was laced with an unyielding fire that had been beaten into his spirit. But now....well you didn't know what he was now, what Mozen and his sadistic "creations" had turned him into. What had they stolen from him? Was it his soul, his hope, or maybe something far worst.

Your amazement only shatters when you notice just how close he's gotten. His icy cold breath tickling the side of your neck. You squirm, pressing your palms flat against his chest. Tangiro doesn't flinch, his head cocks back to the side, his broken stare, vaguely reminds you of a discarded doll. Maybe that's what he is, not a slayer or a demon, just some broken doll that keeps you locked up in his room so that he can get a sense of being needed.

A wave of empathy crashed over you. Wearily you dropped your arms to your side, in a flash Tangiro wraps his long gauntly arms around you, squashing your bones as he pulled you ever so closer to him, nuzzling his visage in the crock of your neck.

Tanjiro Kamado may have once been a remarkable demon slayer on his way to becoming the next water piller of the demon slayer corps...but now he was nothing more than a pitiful broken demon, seeking the feeling of humanity inside a breaking, mortified girl. 

👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹

Zenitsu is a lot bolder, a lot pushier with his affection now that he's been turned into a demon. He wants you to love him the way he loves you, only this time he isn't afraid to break a leg or two, so you'll have no choice but to stay with him. 

His child-like tendencies are still there, albeit demented, yet ever-present. The tantrums and endless crying are as frequent as ever...except now, well now he breaks a bone for every tear YOU make him spill and leaves a scar for every time YOU couldn't satisfy him. Just remember that none of this is poor Zenitsu's fault, oh no, how could it be his fault? He's given you everything you could ever dream of! Even though you're nothing more than a pathetic useless human, Zenitsu still took you as his beloved wife! You should be grateful to him, dedicate your every living second to him, play the role of the loving, caring wife! Not some ungrateful brat, who is always trying to run away!

And yet, you've become oddly accustomed to it. No longer do you mind the screams and beatings. They've grown to be a part of you, a sick and twisted thing that resides within you, infecting your every thought. Much like how Zenitsu's become a heartsick, defective shell of his former self.  

"STOP IT"

something shattered against the wall, breaking into a million flying shards.  The noise echoed through the light less room. Weary, your eyes flashed from the broken remains of what may have been an antique vase, to the crying monster in front of you. The tips of his long curved horns were turning a stark blood red, an indication that his blood was starting to boil. Although you didn't need the mood indicating head tusks to know just how upset the blond crybaby had gotten, they were still a nice little warning to remind you of just how far you could push him. 

"Stop trying to escape!"

Had his voice amplified since your last "screaming contest"?

Did Muzen really think that Zenitsu's voice needed to get any louder, anymore irritating? 

"I wasn't" you deadpanned, your arms crossed in front of your chest. "How can I, did you forget what you did to my leg this morning?" the bones inside your left leg had been deformed, causing your entire leg to point sideways. It was a detestable sight, yet it seemed to fill your rotting heart with a sense akin to a school girl's crush. 

'Zenitsu-chan still loves me! See, see, he went out of his way to touch me!'

'No you idiot, he went out of his way to hurt you.'

Your mind had seemingly been slashed in half since your arrival at the former demon slayer's hideout. One tiny voice acted like a deranged lovesick little girl. Whist the other pertained some form of logic and common sense. This typically led to many interior arguments, all bordering on the exact same premise.

HE LOVES ME

HE'S HURTING ME

HE LOVES ME

HE'S HURTING ME

HE LOVES ME

HE'S HURTING ME

HE LOVES ME

HE'S HURTING ME

HE LOVES ME

HE'S HURTING ME

HE LOVES ME

HE'S HURTING ME

"Quit your whining!" the voice that escaped your lips, was flat and commanding, for a second it vaguely reminded you of Giyu Tomioka before the memory of your former lover shattered. Zenitsu's crying continued but his angry shouts slowly died down, his golden eyes shifted to stare directly at you. wearily you lifted your hands towards him, like an infant begging to be picked up. 

"I'm hungry Zenitsu! Take me into the kitchen, after all, it's your fault I'm like this!" 

Sure Zenitsu was much more powerful than you, sure he could snap your neck, ending your pitiful life at any moment. But his desperate need for approval -something else that had transcended from his human life to his current one- gave you the upper hand in this muddle of a relationship. 

As a demon Inosuke is more...feral, for lack of a better word. He is all so keen on seeing just how far he can push his darlings limits, both mentally or physically. 

He's always hovering around you, trailing his clawed fingers over patches of exposed skin. Smirking all so curly as you shiver and shrink back. His knife-like fangs seen to be permanently impaling your neck. Draining you of your life force. He's just so damn heartless!

 🗡️ 🗡️ 🗡️ 🗡️ 🗡️ 🗡️ 🗡️ 🗡️ 🗡️ 🗡️ 🗡️ 🗡️ 🗡️ 🗡️ 🗡️ 🗡️ 🗡️ 🗡️ 🗡️

Although he may be a ruthless monster, a creature of the night that fed on the innocent, there was no denying that Inosuke was resourceful, resourceful, and strong. He knew just where to hide you, so you would neither be found nor have a chance to escape. There was also the way he routinely cracked your fibula and tibia as a “preprecaution”. 

Your arm wasn't meant to bend that way, neither was your leg when you thought about it. Yet despite the odd angle there had yet to be any cracking or popping to indicate the limp had been, once again, broken. The only real evidence to suggest that the limps were in fact being abused was the white scorching pain coursing through them. A feeling that you had almost grown entirely familiar with.

Inosuke's green eyes shifted lazily between your scrunched up face and the twisting limps. One of his "normal" arms was occupied mangling your left arm, the other two appendages that sprouted from his back were pulling your leg upwards at the knee joint.  Inosuke's head leaned over his remaining arm, he looked bored, like your pain was so mundane that it couldn't even grant him a mere chuckle. 

"I like it better when you scream" his voice was laced with a demanding malice, something bitter and rotting. "It's boring when you try to act all strong and mighty". 

You weren't acting, acting required skills, and an audience who wanted to believe in the performer. No, your lack of response wasn't a show of strength or iron will, it was merely because your vocal cords had been shrieked raw, preventing them from making a single peep. 

Your tear-filled eyes shot up to stare into his depraved orbs. Had there ever been a time when his eyes didn't strike fear into those who peered into them? You highly doubted it, heck the idea of Inosuke ever being anything less than terrifying was a laughable thought. 

An eerie familiar noise filled the room, the cracking noise happened in three instances, like three swipes of a blade. First, it was your talus followed by your patella, and then to finish the spin chilling symphony was the crescendo of your breaking humerus for the hundredth time. 

Tears began to flow rapidly from your eyes, staining your thin layer of clothes. You could feel Inosuke's presence shifting about, leaning ever so closer to nuzzle into the side of your neck. His teeth grazing the already punctured skin. 

Inosuke use to be a demon slayer right? A passionate young man who wanted nothing more than to destroy the very same monsters that he himself became? What a laughable story, a fictional tale if ever you'd heard one!

This man was and would always be nothing more than a cruel demon!

[menthum-mint]

Hehehfjwbe

My interpretations of the elements that dont have Regis

Regidolum, the Ghost type, is a massive being, standing at 8'5", a litwick within its lantern. It is known to many as a reaper, but none fear it, as those who are approached are those who are ready to pass and those who must pass. Passing near Regidolum is painless, even while the litwick consumes the enegy of the "victim", draining them all the while Dolum escorts their soul to the afterlife. Aside from its reaper-like roles in the world, it also appears in dark forests, traversing them in the pitch darkness. Lost souls that are trapped are eased by Dolum, their tasks they must carry out to peacefully travel to the new world will be appeased as long as Dolum aids them. It also happens to lead weary travelers lost in the woods out by coaxing the lantern along, the litwick already appeased by the souls it is given to be convinced not to drain them. Its travels through the woods turn up many resources, which it provides to Reginoct, helping it to create new puppets and shells to control.

Regifae is known as a dream protector, commonly fiercely defending the dreams of the restful. As small as it may be at 1', it is incredibly protective, conjuring needles and weapons out of its mystical magic to use to its advantage. It's small body may be fragile but it's nimble and agile. It's said that it has worked hand in hand with Reginoct to aid restless minds in the past ease into slumber.

Regimorphus was created as a guide, a guardian of those who are lost. Fragmented spirits are lost and dishevelled and need their soul to be whole again, which is difficult to do alone. Morphus is a Shepherd for these souls, guiding them alongside Regianimus and Reginoct to face an obstacle that prevents them from passing on. Animus created illusions of their pasts to right their wrongs and Noct was the shadows of the pasts, a physical manifestation for them to conquer. Once these souls have found peace, Morphus guides them to Dolum so it can ferry them to their final rest.

Regianimus was made to be an Entertainer and one who taught lessons to those who needed them. Putting on shows alongside Noct, Animus taught stories of morality, entertaining the children who gazed upon them, though, overtime, Animus and Noct were discarded, and now, instead of giving the children a patient story to watch, it will play tricks on all it crosses paths with. It's true form has never been documented in recent times, but if one soul were to tame and overcome the trials this psychic mythical threw at them, it would seem them worthy and calm their jestered nature, bending to their order. Animus is capable of taking form of any Pokémon, the spirits of the creatures pluming from its orbs, to plot its plans as needed. It's always noticable that there are 7 eyes in a swirled pattern and rings around its body.

Reginoct a tragic Regi, has grown from beloved to forgotten. In the past, it performed with Animus to teach the children stories of morality, and along with Animus as well aided Morphus in appeasing the tempests in troubles souls. It was also said to coo and sing children and adults alike to sleep while Fae guarded their dreams. Overtime it had been discarded and forgotten, its purpose fading with time. In distress and fear of being forgotten, it's cried, staining its mask in grief and sorrow an had retreated into the shadows. Dismayed by those who gazed upon it once more finding it horrific dye to the stains, it hides behind the effigy of a creature that Dolum had helped it to make. Researches and scientists believed this being to be a new Pokémon, but the moment they saw its shadow with seven eyes, they knew it was not just a Pokémon, but a regi the eay the eyes stared back, but before they could do anything, Noct lashed out and caused a bit of havoc before fleeing the scene, afraid of how they could possibly handle it. If some if not all Regis are tragic, then Noct is the most troubled one.

Despite their typing being incredibly powerful towards one another, they work together, almost like family.

[w1ngfanchu]

Idk, enjoy this crackfic! Happy birthday Otto!!! Chusi don’t look, tw blood, caps, death, cursing, religion/god/heaven/hell mention, fire mention

Wing pulled his raven dark hair into a messy bun, and gazed at his dark brown orbs in the mirror. He could see them sparkle in the reflection. He heard a knock at the door.

“come in!” he cried, with a deep, husky voice. His father, cypher, walked in and sat on his bed.

“Hello son” he said, his voice grave and unfamiliar due to the years Wing had gone without hearing it, “I have some news.” Wing sat down beside his father. “Wing, I am eloping with your friend Nigel’s dad, Mr Darkdoom. I do not want him to see the family disappointment so I am sending you away to live with your aunt. Pack your things, you have 10 minutes.” With that he left, and wing could see his glassy orbs stained with tears that glistened like raindrops.

“HOW COULD YOU” he shouted at the closed door, but there was no response. Packing his things, he reflected on where he would go, as mother gothel, who shared his ebony black hair, lived in Italy. Nobody knew her real name, though some suspected it was Maria.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Wing ran downstairs, tears flying out of his dark sight balls. When it opened there she was, Mother Gothel.

“hello nephew, get in the car.” He listened and sat, his movements seemingly uncontrollable. The drive to the airport was silent. Wing could see a picture of God, and his inhuman face, on the window, and it felt as if it was staring into his dark soul. For Wing wasn’t like other people, as instead of makeup and talking about politics, he studied deities and myths. The car stopped. They got on a plane and flew to Italy.

When Wing woke up, he was in a strange room. He was scared. The door opened and Mother Gothel came inside. “Nephew dearest, I have…business to attend to. While I am gone I have sent for someone to keep you company. He is from another powerful family as I do not want you interacting with the wrong sort. Get changed and breakfast is downstairs.” She left, and he felt so small in such a big room.

Wing went downstairs after getting changed, and started spreading ruby or blood red jam with a surprisingly sharp knife that glistened like jewels on some snow white bread when the doorbell rang. He went to open it, and when he did, he dropped the knife in shock. The creature at the door had spiky white hair, beautiful in the light of the sun, and the face of a weasel on an otherwise human body, which was wearing a black jumpsuit. Lightning fast, Wing watched the creature snap his fingers and saw the knife now hovering just above his left foot.

“Hi. You must be Wing. I can already tell you are special, as you seem to be able to observe my true form.” His voice was beautiful, and the sound was heaven in Wing’s ears. “My name is Ottoious Britain Lucy Number One Weasel the third, but you may call me Otto Weasel.” Otto Weasel. The name was as beautiful as the boy himself.

“nice to meet you” wing stammered, feeling his cheeks grow hot. “thank you for saving me” Wing saw Otto smile and his cheeks grew hotter. Otto Weasel’s blue orbs twinkled like the sun reflecting in the sea, only prettier. Otto Weasel was walking inside and setting down a giant bat and a suitcase. Wing felt his heart beat faster at the thought of this amazing person-weasel? Person living in the same house as him. He felt blessed to even be in the same room as him now.

They spent the day in the mansion, Otto Weasel doing things no human should be able to do. He would summon snacks and riches seemingly out of nowhere, and would toss Wing up so high but catch him every time. He made flowers grow from the marble floors, thick vines filled with grapes, which tasted almost sweeter than the sound of Otto Weasel’s voice when he laughed. When Mother Gothel came home, they ate and went to bed.

The next day, Otto Weasel took Wing outside, barely pushing past the vines that covered the house, and they ran through the streets of Italy, hand in unlovable hand. It took wing a minute to realise that they had started floating, legs no longer pushing the ground but the air while they ran. Looking at Otto Weasel’s glorious weasel face, his sparkling ice blue seeing balls seemed familiar.

“Otto Weasel” Wing started “Otto Weasel, can I ask you something?” Wing stammered, his stomach twisting.

“Yes” came Otto Weasel’s response, “but first I will ask you a question” Otto Weasel continued, his pale cheeks redder than rubies. “Wing, will you be my human boyfriend?” he spluttered, squeezing Wing’s hand.

“Otto Weasel, I thought you would never ask!” wing replied, also blushing. “ Of course I will go out with you. You are my entire world. Where you go, I go” Seeing Otto Weasel’s smile made all of Wing’s worries melt away, despite the fact that they were floating very high off the ground.

“Love, you have not asked your question” Came Otto Weasel’s voice. Wing suddenly felt foolish but he had to ask now.

“Are you god?” Wing asked, before turning away.

“If you want me to be” Otto Weasel replied, as he started bringing them back down to the ground.

When they went back to the mansion, Mother Gothel looked furious. Her ebony hair was pulled into a bun and her eyes held the fury of hell. She sent them both up without dinner, but they had not told her about their new relationship or dinner would not be the only thing they lost that day.

When Wing woke up, he stretched his arms which felt as heavy as lead. He went downstairs to see Otto Weasel chanting quietly under his breath.

“Good morning Otto Weasel, what are you doing?” But Otto Weasel did not stop. Wing felt himself grow tired, and collapsed onto the ground. He was dreaming, he saw bright lights, and strangers. One had blood red hair and was speaking in a Scottish accent. Another was blonde and swinging on vines, though it looked like she was flying. There were two boys, holding hands and eating cake while the one with glasses, who looked extremely like Wing’s friend Nigel, was watering a plant with red liquid. There was also an old man, standing beside a woman with swords covered in heavenly fire, and they were speaking to a man, a familiar man. His father’s new husband.

“these were my friends” Otto Weasel’s voice appeared in his head. He could see them, standing on what seemed to be a cloud bathed in blue light, and Wing could vaguely see something bright and golden in the background-

Wing was jolted upright. Otto Weasel’s expression was blank, as if nothing had happened. Wing got up and they ate breakfast in silence, which was only broken once by Wing’s quiet gasp as Otto Weasel put his hand on top of his.

After breakfast they got up and Wing went to his room to study the schoolbooks Mother Gothel had left for him to revise. Wing opened his religion studies book and saw a face similar to Otto Weasel’s but older. Wing couldn’t focus on his books, not with Otto Weasels sharp Snow White hair, his beautiful pale face, and his laughter like the bells of heaven on his mind. So Wing went to find his beloved Otto Weasel.

When he did, Otto weasel took his hand and showed him around the mansion. His heart fluttering, he could do nothing but follow as Otto weasel led him to the cinema, where they sat under the dimmed lights to watch Wing’s favourite movie, Cars 2. During the movie, Wing gave Otto Weasel a blood red rose, and they were both silent apart from the sound of their beating hearts.

And just as Mater met Finn, Wing felt the gentle press of Otto Weasel’s romantically weaselly lips upon his. Wing felt sparks fly across his body, and felt the world melt away until it was only him, Otto Weasel and the talking cars. The kiss felt like hellfire, passionate and warm, but also like the springs of heaven, comforting and calm. They broke apart after a few short minutes and watched to the end of the movie. They left holding hands, and went upstairs to study together. When Mother Gothel came home, they ate then went to bed.

The next week passed similarly. Wing and Otto Weasel’s bond strengthened and things were almost perfect. But Wing was having nightmares. The people he had seen during breakfast, the people on the cloud were yelling terrible things. They were telling him to run, run far away while he still could. Wing decided to keep these from Otto Weasel as he had been looking stressed that day, and Wing felt bad to burden him with his own problems too.

A few more days passed, and mother Gothel still did not know about their relationship. And today, Otto Weasel looked more stressed than ever. Then at breakfast, just after Mother Gothel was leaving, Otto Weasel slipped Wing a note. It read “my love, you must escape. Leave and never look back”. He felt Otto Weasels soft, once gentle hands push him towards the door, panic in Otto Weasel’s ocean blue orbs. But there was a problem. Mother Gothel was still there and had a good reason. The vibes Otto Weasel had made so long ago were now blocking the door completely, not a hint of outside could be seen.

Mother Gothel snatched the note and read it. Her face twisted into a frown, and she stared at them. She was about to speak when suddenly blue light radiated from the roof.

They heard a voice booming across the mansion “OTTOIOUS BRITAIN LUCY NUMBER ONE WEASEL THE THIRD” It cried, shaking the ground, “YOU HAVE MADE A TERRIBLE MISTAKE” Otto Weasel’s eyes flashed, a dangerous look on his face. “MARIA” the voice continued, “YOU KNOW WHAT YOU MUST DO”

Mother Gothel turned to Otto Weasel. “Wing. Who is he really?” She asked, not taking her eyes off Otto Weasel.

“God?” Wing whispered, flinching at the pain on Otto Weasel’s face.

“GOD?” Mother Gothel yelled “YOU THINK HE IS GOD?” Her face was contorted and she looked to be in pain. “Tell him” she cried at Otto Weasel “let him know what you really are”

Otto Weasel walked slowly towards his boyfriend. Standing on his tiptoes, he held Wing’s chin to point it down at him. “Wing I have not fully been honest with you” he started, voice cracking, “I’ve betrayed the ones I live, I’ve betrayed you.” Otto Weasel pushed a loose strand of Wing’s hair behind his ears. “I was told to do one thing. And I failed. Because I was selfish. I wanted to keep you safe, safe from Him, but in doing so, I’ve damned us all” Otto Weasel’s orbs were glistening with bushes tears, dewdrops on his rosy cheeks..

“Otto Weasel, what are you talking about?” Wing’s question came out in a fast rush of emotion. He hated the pain on his lovers face.

“Your stepfather. You may not know it, but he is an angel. He was coming to visit, but he was bringing along someone i knew would hurt you. He brought your dad. So I’ve kept them trapped in this very house, in a room you couldn’t see, to keep you safe. But now they’re free. And they want revenge.” Just as he finished Wing aww two people walk in. Darkdoom, and his father, armed with a gun. Pointed right at him.

Otto Weasel raised his arm at Cypher. Mother Gothel started towards him then stopped “Otto Weasel, you know what will happen if you hurt gods son in law”

“I do. And I don’t care. If Anyone hurts wing I will stop at nothing to get my revenge. His love is worth more than the lives of anyone in this planet and I will fuck your up if you hurt him” Wing felt himself blush, but was unable to move. He still couldn’t move when he saw his father’s hand squeeze the trigger. He couldn’t move as he saw the bullet flying at him. But he could move to look down to see red stains on his white shirt.

Otto Weasel screamed a bloodcurdling scream. The ground shook as Wing fell to the floor, helpless as the world started to burn, flames pouring from Otto Weasel’s hand, heading towards Cypher. Wing felt Otto Weasel fall next to him and cradle his face, as a portal of fire and screams opened up next to him. Mother Gothels last words came “hell is your home now Otto Weasel but I shall share it with you” with that she lunged at cypher and threw his gun at Wing.

Otto Weasel’s beautiful voice, dampened by the curse of sadness reached his ears “Wing you know what will happen if you do this” he said, as wing drowsily turned the gun upon the man who used to be his father. “I know, my love” he said, finger on the trigger, and he quietly gasped as he felt Otto Weasel’s hand cover his for the last time on Earth. “Otto Weasel I-“

“I know what I’m doing Wing. Of course I will go out with you. You are my entire world. Where you go, I go. And if that is hell, then j will gladly accept my fate, as long as you are there with me”

Together they pulled the trigger and watched as Cypher fell. The portal came closer as wing felt the world fading away, his love’s face getting farther and farther away. The red of hellfire matching the red of Otto Weasel’s blush, and Wing knew that existence without Otto Weasel was a fate worse than death.

But when Wing woke up, he was bathed in blue light, so alone in the void that is eternity.

And when Otto Weasel woke up, bathed in red light, he knew it was all for nothing. Wing was gone and he was alone, so alone in the void that is eternity.

[tinalbion]

Since ya like experimenting (I think): Headcanons for The Phantom (from the 1989 movie) and a Reader who takes Christine's place in the story?

Ahhh yes! Dude this movie was interesting and I loved Robert as a more horror-based version of Eric. I will do my absolute best for you and I hope this is close to what you wanted! ♡ 'Composer by day, serial killer by night'. After rewatching it, I popped tf off and I am not sorry. 

Christine had been a gift to the opera house, he was her teacher, her angel of music. She felt something for him, but once she knew who he was, what he was, she wanted to be as far from him as she possibly could. Eric would have retaliated badly if it weren't for an odd glimmer in the crowd that caught his eye, but maybe it was nothing. He was distraught by his beloved's outburst. Maybe she just needed time and maybe he did too, but no matter how enraged he felt by Christine's rejection, there was still something that perplexed him.

You were in awe of those who were on stage ever since you were a young child, you had always wanted to perform, but the fear of becoming something like that, it was amazing and terrifying. You'd walk the empty halls there sometimes, singing the composed words the stage held previously, the beautiful melodies resounding in your mind. It wasn’t quite possible to do since your family had no status to get in good graces with the right people, but you were happy enough to afford the opera with your family when you could. It was the only thing that really kept you going through life. 

This evening after the show, which was a complication on its own, you had once again taken your usual routine to walk the empty halls to admire the architectural beauties and play pretend, if only for a little while. Your humming turned to full-on singing a tune as you looked up at the wonders of the stage, imagining what it would be like to be where the greats have stood. You imagined a beautiful ensemble to wear upon that golden stage, the bright lights shining down on you, filling you with a warmth that overtook you.

Your thoughts were short-lived as the sound of an organ took over and filled the room with the melody of the song you sang, chills running up your arms as you fell into the soul of the music. You sang along louder this time, picking up where you left off as you mindlessly belted out the words. If only you could see who had been playing so beautifully! The music they played felt so passionate, so beautiful. As much as you were enjoying this shared moment between this mysterious stranger, you longed to know their identity to praise their musical abilities. 

As the tune ended and you smiled wide to yourself, your eyes scanned the room for the person who accompanied you in the grand theater, but no one was there. "Please," you'd call out, "let me see you. Your playing was incredible." They would remain silent as you continued on, rambling off until either they revealed themselves or you found them. You never would have guessed the Opera Ghost was incredibly real, but those were all just stories made up to spook the people who would wander the halls alone. 

You were resilient, you wouldn't give up to see the person who played so beautifully, so filled with pain, but he wouldn't show himself. "I’m afraid you cannot see me," the voice echoed hauntingly, “you will be afraid.” His words were pained and sincere, but he didn’t know you and he surely didn’t know how you would react to someone like him. You were confident that you could withstand the sight of someone like the Phantom. Again, you urged him to reveal himself, and he secretly adored your tenaciousness, but he was still wary, still hurting, he couldn’t bear to scare you away. He couldn’t take it again, he wouldn’t know how he’d react to it, but you were alone…

He circled you without giving away his position, his eyes upon you like a lion keeping its prey within its gaze as he watches your every move. The way your chest rose with each breath, but your breathing was steady despite being in such a dangerous situation, he was intrigued with you. Your eyes wandered, no idea of the real threat lurking around you. Eric was slowly becoming more and more interested in you, the memory of Christine still fresh but fading, because you were here. He was so tempted to call you to him like he would have for the singer, to pull you into the depths where he poured his heart and soul into his music, where he could feel at ease with himself. Whether you would accept him or not, that didn't bother him, not now. All that mattered right now was this moment. 

"If you see me, do you promise not to run?" He asked, his words soft-spoken as you noticed his words had sounded closer. You whipped your head around, searching, the acoustics of the room were throwing you off, but you kept on searching until it led you behind the curtains and within the darkness. Here was where you would have your first brush with the phantom and the sense of excitement that you had never felt before, but that wouldn't be the only time you would feel the thrill. "I promise," you would say shyly, unable to hide the smile that grew across your face. 

When you had seen a glimpse of him, his cape fluttered around his legs as he stood a safe distance away from you, mainly for his own regard and how he was feeling. "What's your name?" He asked you, his voice deep and soothing. You immediately didn't know what to say or how to say it, but you had to start with your name. "Y/N," you responded as you tilted your head to the side, unable to hide your excitement. He noted the way your face lit up and he could see you in a new light the more he spoke to you, and all he wanted was to show you his music and hear you sing his words. "Your voice is quite beautiful, Y/N," he said sweetly, "have you ever thought of singing professionally?" The mere thought of it made your stomach twist and you felt the butterflies within you start to dance. "I've thought about it," you responded carefully. 

Eric wanted so desperately to take you under his wing and teach you to become the best of yourself, to see you take flight with his music, oh it would be a dream. He would make sure not to fail you like he did with Christine, he would be more careful this time around. If you'd agree, things would be different. You had been self-taught, the things you needed now would be discipline and direction. He could teach you these things. "What if i said I could make that happen for you? Become your teacher, help you spread your wings and fly?" The thought of it was insane! Could he really do this for you and make you into a star? Whatever he had done, whatever magic he cast, you fell hard for it and nodded your head eagerly. "Yes, please, I want nothing more," you cried out in excitement, your hands clasped together. "Please, who are you? Are you the Phantom? I'm not afraid, you know." 

That's when Eric couldn't help but press forward to see you closer, he wanted to show you just what you would get into if you were to train with someone like him, although he was still terrified to scare you off. The light hit him just right and you had seen his eye, his beautiful orb staring at you, the other half of his face covered by some sort of scarf. 'So mysterious,' you thought. Either way, his presence didn't invoke fear, he brought you an odd sense of comfort.  He held out his hand to you, offering for a reason you wanted to take so desperately, you needed this, otherwise, it may never happen again. You hesitated, naturally, but with a deep breath and placed your delicate hand in his gloved one, a growl of satisfaction emerged from his mouth as he pulled you close to him. You could now smell him, earthly, smoke, and a waft of something soft. You could smell that and die with a smile on your face. Eric was feeling quite similar, that familiar bubbly feeling happening within the pit of his stomach, almost like when he was with Christine. He wouldn't hide things from you, in due time, you'd know all there was to know about Eric Destler. 

When he pulled you down into the darkness of the underground, beneath the opera floors, you weren't expecting another world down there. He had made it his home, although it had been partially destroyed from an accident. He was making do with how things were, though he was still distraught, you could tell with the way he carried himself. Once he removed the wrapping on his face, you were amazed by him, not frightened as he said you would be, and you took a bolder step like no one else had before. Your hand was placed on him, cupping his cheek as he looked at you with surprise, not expecting a beautiful creature like you to show him any affection of any kind. He gasped, his eyes watered as he closed them quickly, afraid to show you just how weak he was for your touch and just how we had wished Christine would have accepted him like this. He would die protecting you, there was no doubt now. You smiled at him, happy to see him feel at ease with you. 

Your days were spent training with him, teaching you to sing until you were able to become an understudy for the diva herself if it was possible with everything that had happened. You knew Eric was different from the moment you laid your eyes on him, but it didn't bother you in the slightest, all people were unique in their own way and that never bothered you. He would give you longing glances as you read the sheet music to his works, touched by how beautifully written they had been, the music touched a part of you that was only brought out within the depths of under the opera house. You and Eric had slowly begun to feel comfortable around each other, though you took quicker to the situation than he had, hile was always on edge and somewhat distant. You didn't blame him, especially when you found out about his former student, whom he felt so much love and affection for. It was difficult for him to mention her because he felt that there would always be a part of himself with her, but he was doubting that now with you here. Maybe having him as your dark angel wouldn't be so bad.

[varricmancer]

Intertwined | 1

*** Cross-posted on AO3 *** 

Pairing: Farkas x F!OC

Summary: A child of Mara was a soul blessed and bound to its mate for all eternity. Elizabeth Williams is summoned to Mara as a lost soul, only she's from modern America and her mate is somewhere in the wilds of Skyrim.

A/N: Yes, I know I have other works that need to be finished, but I couldn't get this idea out of my head. So here we go. I'll probably change the summary eventually, because right now it sounds cringy and childish, but I really wanted to get this out.I LOVE Elder scrolls and I've been playing the games since I was little, reading everything I could get my hands on, play ESO regularly even. I'm not saying I'm an expert, because I am SO not ( I have a horrible memory ), but I'm saying that I'll try not to mess up the world too much. If there are things that I can't figure out in ES lore, I'll probably fill it in with Norse lore so be warned ahead of time.I hope you enjoy this story. I LOVE Farkas and I wanted to start my first venture into writing ES with him. In my head this is going to be a huge series with different couples as soulmates. Vilkas is going to get his story after I finish this one ;)

***

When she had gone to bed that night, nothing about her day had been different from any other.  

She’d come home from her shift at the restaurant where she’d been working for ten years feeling like her back and feet were going to fall off. She’d taken a long soak in the tub as she thought about her job and how much of a dick her boss was for not giving her the raise he’d promised - or the interview for the sous chef position. She’d bet her life savings he was going to offer it to the incredibly annoying fake blonde Commis Chef they’d hired just last year, only because she kissed his ass and sent him flirty smiles all the time. Probably more, who knows.

After her bath she’d eaten a fast and easy dinner of kimchi fried rice using leftover rice and bacon, with two whole eggs because she deserved it.

Then she’d gone to bed with some crime show on in the background that she hadn’t even paid attention to and had fallen asleep quickly due to exhaustion. She'd been too tired to even think about playing one of her games.

And now - now she was currently experiencing one of the weirdest dreams she’d ever had in her life. Maybe it was her mind trying to cope with stress or just the result of eating bacon before bed.

It wasn’t so much the setting that was odd. It was actually really pleasant. A vast meadow filled with plants and wonderful smelling flowers that she’d never seen before. Butterflies flit through the air around her and all the colors were so vividly amped up they were practically glowing. Little creatures that she didn’t recognize would often peer around a bush or run along her path, watching her curiously. How odd that none of them seemed very afraid.

She followed a little stone pathway, simply strolling along as she admired her surroundings. When she’d read The Secret Garden as a girl, she’d often pictured a place like this. Calm and beautiful. Of course, she’d always added elaborate stone kitchens because even in her imagination she had to be cooking something.

Suddenly, strange balls of golden light began to appear and float around her. But somehow, she wasn’t worried or afraid. They felt...familiar, almost.

“You have finally arrived. Welcome, Elizabeth.”

She turned towards the voice, finding a strange-looking but strikingly beautiful woman standing near a large statue. She almost looked like someone cosplaying or attending a ren fair with her medieval clothes. She kind of reminded her of an older version of the Princess from Braveheart, actually. She was smiling down at her in an almost motherly fashion and Elizabeth thought for a moment that she should find it weird how tall the woman seemed to be. Nearly nine feet at least. That was weird, right? And was she...glowing?

“Where am I?”

“In my home. I am Mara and I called you here to correct a wrong.”

The only Mara she knew was from a video game. “A wrong?”

The woman gestured towards the golden orbs that continued flying around them both slowly like they were happy to be in her presence.

“These are the souls of my children waiting for their turn to return to their beloved. While many decide to simply live one lifetime and then rest their souls in the realm of their choosing, there many still that are bonded to another and choose to live again with each other.”

“Soulmates. Yeah, I’ve heard the concept in fanfics and cheesy television. What does that have to do with me?” Elizabeth rolled her eyes, playing along somewhat. Of course, if this had been real she would probably be scared off her ass right now, but since this was a dream she could be as sassy as she wanted.

The woman merely folded her hands together and graced her with a patient smile, making her feel like as ass.

“You are one of those bonded souls. However, I believe that either someone disrupted your cycle or stole you from me completely because you were not only in the wrong timeline but in the wrong realm as well.”

Elizabeth’s heart ached with longing. A soulmate...for her?

Even her dreams mocked how lonely she was.

The woman turned and waved her hand and suddenly a big orange...thingy...appeared. Kinda looked like a certain eye. Her dream was pulling out all the stops today, huh? She hadn’t even watched Lord Of The Rings in years. She guessed it also kinda looked like an Oblivion gate from her Elder Scrolls games.

“I have opened the door for you to return to your mate. I am sorry that it took so long. You must have been lonely.”

Elizabeth swallowed thickly, thinking back on all of her wasted years with the wrong people. On her mom. On her brother that she couldn’t find.

“Yeah.”

Somehow the woman suddenly seemed to become smaller, although still towering over her. She leaned down and pressed a light kiss to Elizabeth’s forehead before guiding her gently towards the door. It looked more like a gate to hell than something that would lead to anything good.

“Go forth, child of Mara, and be reunited with your love.”

Elizabeth Williams exhaled shakily and stepped through the blazing door before she realized the woman had never even told her how to find her soulmate or what his name was.

Good thing this was only a dream.

***

[blackypanther9]

Part 19 - Wrong Move...

Your POV....

I went outside and back into the room, where Loki was in the glass. As I was there....he wasn't in the cell anymore. I panicked.

"Loki ?", I asked into the room....nothing.

"Loki...this isn't funny.", I told the room.

Suddenly the door opens and I turned around. I saw Fury enter, he looked at me.

"Loki is in my office. He is waiting for you and wants to know where the scepter is.", he told me.

I nodded and ran out of the room to the office. As I got in I saw Loki sitting on a chair, waiting.

"Hey...Lucie. Do you know where the scepter is ?", he said.

"It's in the lab... The boys are investigating it."

"Can I look at it ?"

"Why ? It's the reason you killed people. It controlled you."

"I just want to see it."

I got closer and stared into his eyes...still green. Nah ! Fine.

"Alright...fine...", I gave in.

He smiled at me and got up. I went with him into the lab and he saw the scepter immediately. He went closer and....no....no !

"DON'T TOUCH IT !!!"

.....too late....he drew his finger over it and he shivered.

'No....What have I done ?'

He took it in his hand, turned around and had blue eyes again. I stared at him.

"I wanted to see if it was the scepter...Guess it was.", he said, smiling.

I got in fighting position. He attacked me and wanted to hit my head with the scepter. I dodged. I ran out of the room and into the room, where his cell was. I opened the doors and made an illusion on it. It was looking like it is still closed. He came inside. He still smiled, then grimaced.

"Is the power not working ? Oh you poor mortal.", he said sarcastically.

He went to me and was going to touch me with the scepter. I took a hold of it, lifted it with Loki up and threw him in his cell. I had the scepter in my hand and Loki was in the cell again. I made a move with my hand and the door closed. He tried to run out, but he was too slow and ran against the glas.

"Why did you idiot do that ?! Look at you !! Odin will kill you for that ! DON'T YOU KNOW THAT ?!", I screamed at him.

"I do. And I honestly don't care.", he said smiling at me.

I shook my head, turned on my heel and went to the door outside. He chuckled, before I was on the door. I stopped in my tracks and turned around, to face him.

"What are you laughing at ?", I asked.

"Look at you and your great friends. You won't be having this kind of freedom forever.", he said amused.

'So much for he is finally free and trusting him and all...'

I rolled my eyes, turned around and left. I heard Thor calling me and running to me. I stopped, turned around and looked at him annoyed.

"What, Thor ?"

"Why is Loki in his cell again and you have the scepter ?", he asked.

"Loki touched the scepter, to know if the scepter was the reason of his sudden change. And it is. He is again under the control of it. And no, I won't ask Banner again, to knock the shit out of him. I am sick of it."

Thor's eyes widen in shock. I turned around and went into my room, locking the door behind me. I fell into my bed and hugged Loki's blanket....again. I hit the wall, I was facing and I broke my hand. ....Right....I put my wristbands on, in case I do something like that...

"Lady Lucie ? Please open the door...", I heard Thor knocking.

I hid my face in Loki's blanket and screamed.

"Leave me the fuck alone, Thor !"

"Why ? You are sad. I want to change it."

"Then go away !"

There was silence. After a moment of silence I heard footsteps, getting further away. A few minutes later I fell asleep, still tightly hugging Loki's beloved blanket.

In my dream....

I was standing in Loki's room and looked outside the window. I looked down at a book. I didn't saw any writing on the cover. I sat down on Loki's bed and opened the book. The first pages, I saw nothing. Then I turned a page again and gasped in shock. There was a drawing. Not just any drawing... It was Loki killing Odin, Thor and Frigga. I let the book fall to the ground and wanted to stand up. But I couldn't. Out of nowhere, came out of the book blood. I lifted my legs and laid on Loki's bed. Suddenly the door opened. I turned my head, slowly, afraid of seeing Loki in blood or any dead person in the doorway. But instead I saw Loki, clean and well. He came to me in a rush as he saw my face in shock.

"Dest, what's wrong ?", he asked worried.

"The book....please tell me it was a prank of yours.", I said pointing to the book on the floor.

He looked at it and then at me. He picked it up and opened it.

"I don't know what you are talking about...The book is fully normal. I swore that I won't play mean tricks on you...and I stand to this promise. What did you see, dear ?", he asked worried.

"I saw a scary painting of you killing Thor, Frigga and Odin. I dropped it and suddenly, out of nowhere, came out blood of it. Please tell me you pranked me !"

He stared at you as you stared at him.

"Darling...don't you know anymore ?", he asked.

"W-what do you mean ?!"

"You drew this picture and burned it after that. It was 5 years ago. And......I am....dead.", he answered.

I stared at him.

"But you ARE here !!", I screamed.

He turned away from me, his back facing me and as he turned back to me, I saw his eyes were white like snow, no green orbs and no black pupils... I screamed and jumped from the bed.

"WHAT HAPPENED ?! WHO DID THIS TO YOU ?!", I screamed in panic.

"Don't you remember ? He did this to me."

He pulled his collar down and I saw his neck blue and purple as if he got strangled to death. Suddenly his head fell to his right, with a sick cracking noise. I screamed in shock again. His neck was definitely broken.

"LOKI ! YOUR NECK !!!"

"I know. He killed me, 5 years ago..."

"W-WHAT ?!"

He stood up, walked to me, took my hand and kissed it. He used his right hand to move his head to its actual position and pulled his collar up again. He pulled me into a hug and kissed my cheek. Then he let go.

"When will that happen ?", I asked.

"You have 4 - 6 years left.", Loki answered.

I was frozen in shock.

"You need to wake up. You don't belong here. Wake up... I will see you."

I shook my head. He sighed.

"I am sorry.", he said.

Before I could ask him he was a dark creature and jumpscared me.

End of dream....

I startled awake and sat up. As I woke up it was 2PM. I fell asleep at 2 AM today. I sighed in relief, but couldn't forget the nightmare... I stood up, grabbed a poetry book, not caring how I looked like right now and went into the room with Loki in his cell. He looked at me and I teleported the book into his cell. I was relieved that he wasn't dead. He took the book and smiled at me, after he read the title.

"Thank you, Lucie.", he said.

"No problem........Could you stand right in front of me as close as the glass allows you ?"

He looked at me confused.

"And why should I do that ?", he asked.

"Please ? I just wanna check something."

He hesitated but did as I asked him. I got as close as I could and looked at his throat. Nothing. Good. I stepped back.

"Okay thanks. I need to go now, I am busy... Goodnight Frosty."

He then stepped back too. Looking at me still confused.

"Goodnight...", he replied.

I walked outside and back into my room. After 20 minutes the ship, or whatever it is, rattled and I felt like we were falling and my feeling didn't trick me. Because I fell from my bed onto the wall to my left. Hard. It almost knocked the air out of me. I stood up and ran outside. Luna was with Tony the whole time, I was worried for her and what happened. Tony ran as fast as he could with Luna in his arms, as soon as he spotted me.

"Take her !", he screamed.

"What happened ?!"

"We got attacked ! I have to go !", he answered and ran away.

"TONY !"

He stopped and turned around to look at me.

"BE CAREFUL AND GOOD LUCK !!", I shouted to him.

He smiled, nodded and then ran off again. Luna pulled out her claws and clung onto me. I ran into my room and stayed there for good 12 minutes. I then pulled out a collar for Luna, put it on her and pressed a button. She now will stand like that even if she is upside down. Yes a gravity collar for animals... I am clever. Then I ran out and heard a gunshot in Loki's cellroom. I opened the door, to see Agent Phil Coulson laying there with a weird weapon in his lap. His body and suit had his own blood everywhere.

I ran back out, I searched for an first aid kit. As I found one and returned, Director Fury was already there and Phil was dead. I stopped dead in my tracks. I let the aid kit fall and Fury looked me in the eyes. He was mad.

"He and on our side now...huh ?", he asked angry.

"Mister Fury...I can explain myself. I swear ! He-"

"NO. You lied to us. You said he was good now. Bruce said he can be trusted again. Why did you lie ? Huh ?! Answer me damn it !!"

I flinched everytime he yelled at me. It wasn't me who let him out. But it was my fault of being too late, of him touching the scepter again.

"Thanks to you, he escaped ! Thanks to you, Agents died ! Thanks to you, we almost all died !", he yelled at me.

I got angry and looked at him. Now it was my turn.

"YOU THINK I DID IT ON PURPOSE ?! LISTEN HERE ODIN NUMBER TWO, HE WANTED TO SEE WHERE THE FUCKING SCEPTER WAS AND I SHOWED HIM !! HE RAN HIS FINGER OVER IT AND IT PUT HIM UNDER CONTROL AGAIN !!! HE WANTED TO TEST THAT ! BEFORE I REALIZED WHAT HIS DAMN PLAN WAS IT WAS TOO LATE AND I LURED HIM INTO A TRAP AGAIN !! I LOCKED HIM UP AGAIN !! I WASN'T THE ONE WHO FREED HIM !! I WASN'T IT IN THE FIRST PLACE AND IN THE SECOND PLACE ALSO !! INSTEAD OF ALWAYS JUDGING ME, YOU SHOULD HEAR THE PEOPLE OUT FIRST INSTEAD OF JUST BLAMING THEM !! YOU GOD DAMN MORONS !!!"

He stared at me in shock and respect, but I was too angry to see it. I turned on my heel and ran out into my room, locked the door and packed my stuff. I am going to leave now ! I knew it was a big mistake in the first place. Why didn't I listen to my feeling ?!

Part 20

Masterlist with all Chapters of this Story click here !  

[moonlit-grove]

On Vielcos: Beloveds

A comprehensive post on how Vielcos met and ended up with her different beloveds. I'll probably do one of these for all my shipped characters.

Cactus Blossom (Canach)

Vielcos met Canach on Southsun. With the Commander busy, she was the one to battle the criminal terrorizing the Consortium. Even if she sort of agreed with why he was doing it, she still had to bring him in for the damage he'd done to the landscape and all the deaths he'd caused. It was storming, the night they fought. Far too dark for a human to see, but she and Canach could see each other based on their glows.

As the two waited for Kiel to arrive to make the arrest, the storm began to clear, moonlight filtered in through the roots above... and a symbol from both their dreams appeared in the shadow on the ground before them.

After his arrest, she couldn't help visiting him. Almost every night, the Spymaster would break into the prison- and later the Vigil Keep- to see him. To sit with and speak with him. But she never tried to help him escape.

As they grew closer, she would open his cage to be close. He never tried to run. Their first time together- her first time at all- was in the cage. Three nights before Anise purchased his billet. Vie would have done that, if she'd known it was an option.

Through the years until his freedom, she once again would sneak to see him and keep him happy. Many nights, she would snuggle up to him and let him rant about the countess. He didn't want to be tied down to one group, but if he had to be tied to her, he would happily.

Aquatic Blossom (Largos Canach)

A Largos trapped in an abandoned fishing net on Southsun, a Spymaster wandering the shores. She saw him struggling to free himself, but ed very motion only tangled himself further. The bloom couldn't help offering her help, carefully cutting him free. She didn't say anything, when she saw the pattern on his back... the net fell perfectly when she dropped a piece...

For two years, he followed her. It was curiosity, at first. Then something shifted, he started seeing her as prey... but not the kind to kill. Yet more time, eventually she started feeling things in return... Which took more years for him to grow to love her, rather than see her as this prey.

Viehearne (Trahearne)

The curiosity of the firstborn started when they met. He had returned to the Grove when she was three, shortly after she'd finally graduated from saplinghood, after the warden's treatments caused her to be held back mentally and emotionally. Malomedies introduced them to each other, and she admits to following him around the Grove like a lost sylvan pup. She was just so curious!

It would be Claw Island that pushed their relationship: Tybalt's death shook Vielcos, she'd been working with him for quite a long time. She sought comfort in the familiar, in Trahearne. Though she's not entirely sure how she ended up sleeping with him, or if that was a healthy way of dealing with her grief.

From there, working so closely with him, her heart began to shift, though she kept the feelings secret. Even if she wanted to run and kiss him when he cleansed the heart-well.

Later, after the destruction of Lion's Arch, Trahearne resolved to redefine the Pact's leadership. No more would the Order leaders have such high rank, not after they kept him from helping the people. Instead, Whispers would work through a Spymaster. And, he chose Vielcos for that position.

"Marshal," she said when he asked, "If I'm going to be digging secrets for you, you need to know mine... I love- am in love with- you."

Rumor has it that the Pact Spymaster will do anything to protect the Marshal.

Leading Love (Cor and Trahearne)

A pair of Magisters from the Durmand Priory were giving saplings a lesson on something, Vielcos can't quite remember what it was. But all the saplings of that generation, not just night or dusk, dawn or noon. The green one, Cor, noticed how Vie still isolated herself from her peers, she and the other- Sieran- agreed to sneak the sapling out of the Grove on a short adventure to boost her spirits.

Questing again with Cor years later, Vie watched as she fell in love with Trahearne... Watched as those feelings grew, watched how she kept her infatuation secret. Yet, as they advanced into Orr... Her own feelings emerged. For both of them. She loved them, both of them. She fell for them. Just before their push into the Heart-well, as the Pact stood preparing, the young lilac asked the marshal and commander aside, to speak.

She loved them both, and- She knows Cor loves Trahearne... The firstborn confesses, he fell for both of them as well. And Cor? How lovely, the three of them. A new and curious relationship, but at least the leadership of the Pact is together. In love, together, and strong. The Marshal knows the Commander and Spymaster will look out for each other. And when they return to him, they will run to his arms and smother him in affections.

Lilac of The Deep (Sayeh)

Once as a sapling, Vielcos joined Occam on a trip far from the Grove and the safety of the Caledon. They needed supplies, ones hard to get in their forest. He told her to stay close, but she curiously strayed to the waters. She saw something glowing.

Her own pink glow attracted something as well, a hunter that circled her curiously. She hadn't the time to speak with the odd creature, but offered a smile when her name was called. She waved as she departed the waters, the creature was intrigued.

Perhaps it was coincidence that the exact same huntress was near Claw Island when the Risen attacked. When Vielcos was knocked down, being dragged towards the beach and struggling to fight, when her sister screamed her name and tried to burn a path, the huntress was there.

She emerged from the water, protecting the lilac in a flash of blue. From the ground, the lilac took notice of a pattern on her back, though said nothing more than a gasp. The Largos helped her to her feet, then vanished again into the water.

They met again when Vielcos went searching for the krait orb. Again and again, and each time, mutual curiosity grew. Finally, they worked together in Orr, eventually near the heart-well. The lilac asked to speak with her, asked if love was common among her people. Because she had fallen in love with her.

And, when the well was cleansed, Sayeh expressed her own love. Vielcos knocked her down in her excitement.

[mythriteshah]

A Mother’s Hope; An Angel’s Loyalty

Under a moonlit night within the Near Eastern nation of Radz-at-Han, the people and servants of the Higuri Regalia slumbered.  All save for one, however.  As the silvery light of Menphina illuminated the halls leading to the Mythrite Sultan’s bed chambers, a lone Lalafellin figure stood vigil.  Dressed in silvery-white, she felt the light of the Lover kiss her skin and golden hair.  She opened her eyes to gaze upon the star, revealing limpid aqua-blue orbs.

She greeted the moon with a grin, enjoying the silent scenery of the starlit sky.  Veeveena was her name, and though she is an Advisor to the Mythrite Sultan, she was his most loyal.  While most would be asleep at this hour, she ensured her lord’s safety by standing watch in case of unlikely assassins.

The silence would be broken a few ticks later, when footsteps were heard from the halls.  She turned her gaze to the source of the noise, waiting for the silhouette to be revealed before the moonlight.  “This otherwise dull night was going to become interesting,” she thought, and her hand slowly trailed down to part the folds of her dress, revealing a pair of bladed fans.  Without hesitation, she took one of them up, unfolded it to brandish the blades, and threw it into the darkness.

The steel glimmered in the moonlight, and as it struck the shadows… nothing happened.  No sound of a body hitting the floor.  Perhaps an apparition of sorts?  The only sound that followed was that of a voice as softer as voile silk.

“Very good, Veeveena. You are truly deserving of the epithet ‘the Visceral’.”

She gasped as the individual drew closer, revealing an ethereal beauty of a Lalafell woman wearing a Near Eastern dress of mythril blue and silver, with a veil to match. Her eyes were snow white, with hair of similar color that stopped past her upper back.  She grinned at Veeveena as she flashed the fan she threw, tossing it back her way.

“Valide Sultan…!” Veeveena gasped as she instinctively caught the weapon. “My deepest apologies –“

“Now, now, Veeveena,” she interjected, “there is no need to apologize.  You were in the right to respond in such a way.  But I did not come all this way to spar.  I wanted to speak to you as a beloved friend and confidant. So please, you need not address me as ‘Valide’, ‘Queen Mother’, or anything of the sort. Tonight, I am speaking to you as Mimizo.”

Veeveena nodded in response, accompanying the Valide Sultan as they made their way out of the Main Branch Headquarters.  Mimizo’s strides were dignified and graceful, and her hands were folded at the center, giving off an air of regality and refinement.  Veeveena mirrored this as they enjoyed their tranquil stroll through the moonlit halls of the Main Branch.

“It is awfully late, Lady Mimizo,” Veeveena stated.

“Which is what makes this the most opportune time to speak with you,” Mimizo replied.  “Veeveena, I have watched the Regalia blossom into the prosperous empire that it is now, and I could not be any more proud of my dearest son for his efforts – as well as the efforts of the Angels who have served him unquestioningly.  My beloved husband also expresses his praise, and was all the more elated to help contribute with the birth of the Mythril Wavetraders.  However…”

She paused as they exited the massive estate and arrived in the courtyard entrance.  She took this moment to collect herself, for what she would say next would not be easy.

“Is aught amiss, Mimizo?” asked Veeveena.  The Valide Sultan shook her head.

“It is concerning my dearest Thiji,” she answered.  “He has grown into a fine young man, full of ambition and genius.  But if there is one thing I cannot suffer overlong – especially as a Mother – is watching my dearest son live out a loveless, lonely existence.  While I cherish each and every one of the sons and daughters of the Higuri – all of whom have only made this world more beautiful through their arrival – Thiji is my pride and joy.  Of all present, he has fulfilled much, and has sacrificed far more to get to where he is now.”

“I agree wholly, my lady,” Veeveena replied as she gazed up into the moon.  “Seeing the Regalia succeed is such a grand sight to behold all its own.”

“Which is why,” Mimizo began, “I have decided to play a more active role in this dilemma.”

The Valide Sultan turned towards Veeveena to face her.

“My son has lived for twenty-seven winters now, and he has had little to no luck in finding his Sultana, as he loves to put it.”

“We are all aware, my lady,” Veeveena replied.  “Not a turn of the sun goes by where I do not think of how we may alleviate this. While it is of the highest of privileges to directly serve the Mythrite Sultan, I still feel inadequate that I cannot bring him true happiness.  The Regalia has everything for which it could ever wish… save for a Sultana for my Lord Thiji.  And he has been doing quite well for so long, but I truly feel that having someone by his side would be the greatest morale boost for everyone under the wings of the Regalia.  Which, in turn, makes me wonder if the Angels were created because of this…”

“Are you implying the Angels would be without purpose serving him and his intended?” Mimizo questioned.

“Of course not!  But… it just feels right aiding him as he is now,” Veeveena answered.

“Even still, my son will not be living this lovelorn life while I am around,” Mimizo explained.  “It is selfish, but as a Mother, I want what is best for my young, and for my family.  Finding the right woman for Thiji is imperative to fulfilling this.  She must be strong; she must be graceful.  Delicate and refined, but also deadly and willful.  She must protect my son just as competently as he would protect her.  But above all those traits… she must also be fecund.”

Veeveena reflected upon those words.  There was truth behind them all, but it made her wonder just who in this great world of Hydaelyn would be capable of meeting such criteria.  After another long pause, Mimizo approached Veeveena with an honest smile, lifting her chin so that she was eye level.

“Should my dearest son reach his thirtieth Nameday and still be single… I would ask of you to take his hand.”

Veeveena’s heart skipped a beat.  A gasp parted her lips as she slowly backed away from the Valide Sultan.  To embrace the Sultan she so fervently serves in an intimate manner… she would feel no greater euphoria than this.  She shook her head and regained her composure, pondering over the ultimatum.

“Lady Mimizo,” she began, “with all due respect, Lord Thiji strictly forbids himself from courting his own Angels.  We were established primarily as his auxiliary force – never as a harem.”

“And I understand and respect that in the highest regard,” Mimizo immediately replied.  “However, I can think of none more suitable for this than you, Veeveena.  You are a delicate flower, born and raised in Thavnair; your skills are many and your prowess is deadly; you spend the most time with my son whenever he is home, and defend him with unwavering loyalty; you command the respect of all your fellow Angels, and they would surely rejoice at the thought of you taking my son’s hand.  Furthermore, your youthful beauty accentuates your fertility; you would produce many strong and extravagant heirs for the Higuri clan.”

“Lady Mimizo…” Veeveena said in a hushed breath.  “This would mean standing down from not only my service as an Angel, but as an Advisor. There must be someone to take my place should this come to pass!”

“Some of our Near Eastern-born Angels would be interested, I am sure,” Mimizo stated.  “But yes, you would indeed have to step down from your status, but you would then be elevated to something greater.  While I do apologize for placing such a burden on you –“

“No, Lady Mimizo,” Veeveena interrupted.  “There would be no greater honor than to serve my Sultan… as his Sultana.  And perhaps this will spark his imagination into even higher heights of fashion!”

“That’s the Near Eastern flower I know and mentored!” Mimizo giggled.  “Thank you for considering this, my old friend.  But until that time comes, I ask that you continue to care and protect my dearest son as you have.”

Veeveena bowed her head with a smile.  The Valide Sultan would return a grin of her own, but it would quickly dissipate after a moment’s silence.  She looked around the courtyard for a moment and had just recalled that it was night time, and certain nocturnal creatures are active during such hours.

“Nyra!” Mimizo sternly called.  As if on cue, the beating of wings was heard.  Veeveena turned and saw the shadow of an owl making its way towards them from above.  It would circle the courtyard twice before landing in Mimizo’s arms.  A snow owl with pristine white down and the symbol of Nald’thal etched upon its breast greeted her with a coo.  “No matter what happens, no matter what my son says to you: do not disclose this to him. Understand?”

Nyra immediately bowed in response.  Mimizo grinned once more and kissed the owl on the crown of the head before raising her arm upwards, sending off the owl.  With that conversation thus settled, Mimizo had returned inside to reunite with her husband lest he worries overmuch about her disappearance.  As for Veeveena, she returned to the chambers of the Mythrite Sultan.  Cracking open the double doors, she saw him in peaceful slumber.  Veeveena placed a hand to her heart, hanging her head as she did.

“My Sultan…” she whispered to herself, “I pray that three winters from now… you’ll accept me as yours. Until then, I will ever be by your side… as an Angel.  Your Angel.  May your dreams be filled with bliss, my lord.”

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Sphere (Rōpā) Doomer

Debut: Kirby’s Return to Dream Land

Kirby dwells with a lot of alien creatures, this is because it is a series all about space and different planets, so really everyone is an alien! But these guys are Extra Alien! They come from a mysterious place known as Another Dimension, an in-between dimension where the fabric of spacetime is warping all the time, and this is where the Doomers dwell!

The Doomers are a family of creatures that live in Another Dimension, and I adore them, if you give anything that silly jagged www mouth chances are I’ll love it! These guys are also extremely rotund AND have a super cool ever-shifting coloration pattern!

You might only be familiar with the Sphere Doomers but that’s only one of the multiple species of them, and they all follow a super cute naming convention! Sphere Doomers are Rōpā, then there’s Rāpa, Rīpa, Rupa and Rēpā Doomers! Ropa Rapa Ripa Repa! Isn’t that fun! Say it out loud multiple times! It’s great!

Let’s start with Rōpā Doomers, they have wings, fancy tail feathers, and their mouths are always fully open! As they usually have an orb containing something you want inside! They can shoot orbs of plasma, fire, and ice, and are constantly flying and teleporting around! They are a midboss common throughout the game, and get to be a Boss in the form of Grand Doomer.

Also in the Kirby Novels, we get to meet a baby Sphere Doomer! 

Here’s where it gets interesting, at the end of the game Kirby and friends get to visit Another Dimension themselves, and they get received by the Rōpās’ extended family!

Name: Rāpa Doomer

Debut: Kirby’s Return to Dream Land

This little guy is the smallest of the family, their mouths are completely shut, they got more butterfly-esque wings, and they even got one little Baby Hair on top of their head!, they like flying in formation with other Rāpas.

Name: Rīpa Doomer

Debut: Kirby’s Return to Dream Land

Oh these guys are grumpy! They’re bigger versions of Rāpa, they can open their mouths to shoot plasma orbs, AND look at their hair! it’s edgy now! 

Name: Rupa Doomer

Debut: Kirby’s Return to Dream Land

We arrive to my dearly beloved! Rupa Doomer! LOOK AT THIS GUYYYY!!! They’re a little egg with feet!! They have no wings at all! They just stand angrily on the ground shooting plasma orbs at you, and of course three funny spiky hairs on top. I also really love the colors of this one the most! They’re teal with hints of violet and navy! All warping around constantly!

Name: Rēpā Doomer 

Debut: Kirby’s Return to Dream Land

And finally we have Rēpā Doomers, by far the biggest among them! Their eyes are the angriest. their hairs are slickly brushed backwards, and they got 4 Cackletta-like horn things, presumably they fly with these? They’re always seen floating, regardless, just as with Cackletta, I kinda wanna squeeze them, I think they’d do a funny honk sound!

And that’s the Doomers! A really lovely family if you ask me! And don’t worry! Kirby seems to have befriended them now! As seen in one of the Find Kirby books, look!

I hope they’re all living their best lives together in Another Dimension, see you next time!